666 Naruto
by desert-tiger
Summary: Naruto was not always alone. He had a sibling who one day, had to leave. Now, with the finals to the Chunin Exam coming up, he finds that his brother is back. Will he find out what caused him to leave? Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Welcome to my story! This has been dancing around in my head for the last couple weeks. It wouldn't leave me alone. I swear, it was like these plot bunnies learned Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and had a party in my head! I hope writing this calms them down. Before you start reading I should clear some things up. This is taking place after the preliminaries of the Chunin Exam. Also, I'm crossing this over with another manga called 666Satan.

666Satan is written by Kishimoto Seishi. It's no coincidence that he has the same last name as Kishimoto Masashi. They are twin brothers after all, Masashi being the older twin. Anyway, I though it would be appropriate to cross them over. Okay now for those of you haven't read or even heard of 666Satan, it's about a boy named Jio Freed who has grown up alone because everyone believes him to be a monster (remind you of someone?) . He managed to make one friend until one day his friend beat him up, accusing him of killing his parent. Interesting enough, Jio seems to share his body with the one and only Satan who takes over his body at certain times. So anyway Jio then goes around traveling to become strong because his dream is to take over the world. He meets a girl named Ruby Crescent who literally fell out of the sky. She is a treasure hunter who hires him to be her bodyguard. They travel around looking for these artifacts called O-parts that hold amazing power, but only certain people can use them. People who can use the O-parts are called OPT's (O-Part Technicians). Anyway the manga follows them in their adventures for the O-parts and their meetings with other OPT's.

If you want to find out more about 666Satan, just google it and I'm sure you'll find something. I probably left out something with my short explanation. If not you can always ask me. I think that's about it. Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention that I'm probably not going to keep Naruto canon for obvious reasons. Some parts may stick to the cannon story line, but I'm going to make changes when needed so don't freak out on me. Okay now you may proceed and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan. This is for entertainment purposes.

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Years ago in the village of Konoha, a demon attacked the unsuspecting people. The demon was known as the Kyubi No Yoko. This kitsune demon was said to be the strongest of the Tailed Beasts. Despite this fact, Shinobi in the village fought their hardest to protect their home. The Fourth Hokage showed up into the battle field with Gamabunta. Using the Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) he was able to seal it away in a new born infant. Unfortunately he lost his life as a result. He died hoping the infant would be seen as a hero.

Although they won, they also lost many lives to the demon. The villagers buried the dead and their beloved Hokage with heavy hearts. With no where to vent their frustrations and anger, they turned to the infant as a scapegoat. They said he was the demon itself and demanded that he be killed. The Sandaime Hokage did not give in to their demands and the baby was allowed to live. It was after this that the Hokage issued a law that prohibited anyone to speak of the Kyubi. Thus the young blonde boy grew up with the village hating him. Never knowing why. Only knowing that he was lower than trash in the eyes of the villagers.

"Nii-san?" a five year old boy asked an older boy.

"Yeah?"

"Why do the villagers hate us? Why do they hate me?"

The boy looked at the blonde with sad eyes. "I don't know Naruto, but……" he kneeled down to the blonde. "As long as I'm here I'm gonna protect you."

Naruto smiled and hugged the older boy. "You're the best brother Jio!"

Jio chuckled "I don't know about the best, but if you say so…."

"You are!"

"Okay, okay, let's get something to eat. Hey why don't we try out that new ramen place?"

"Okay." he beamed.

Jio took Naruto's hand and lead him through their village.

----------6 Years Later-----------------

A twelve year old Naruto trudged to his apartment. It had been a very long week. The Chunin exams had taken a lot out of him. Still, he was happy that he made it to the finals. As he neared his apartment he became more alert. He moved into the shadows and observed the area near his apartment. Quietly, he climbed up the stairs and to his door. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a key. He slipped it into the key hole and opened the door slowly. He slipped in and closed it. He was glad he made it home without any incidents. Naruto looked at the state of his home. There were cups of ramen everywhere, it was dusty, and his window was broken. With a sigh, he went over to a cabinet and pulled out some scotch tape. He walked over to his window and taped up the hole. There would be no point in complaining to the land lord. He would just sneer at him and tell Naruto to pay more if he wanted small things like that fixed. It was always like that. Even now when he was a ninja, they still looked down on him. They still saw him as nothing but trash. Naruto shook himself out of his depressing thoughts. No, Uzamaki Naruto was not going to get depressed. He was Konoha's number one loud mouth ninja! Nodding in satisfaction he went to his bathroom and took a well needed shower. After a few minutes, he walked out and dressed into his pajamas. He fell face first into his bed. It felt hundred times nicer than the ground. He turned and laid on his back. For a few minutes he looked at the ceiling. Of course he was tired, but for some reason, he was having trouble falling asleep. He turned to his side and looked at his desk. There sat a picture of his team. He remember the day they took it. It took them half and hour to take it since he was trying to hog all the room. Sakura eventually beat him up for it. After his face became less swelled, Kakashi put Naruto and Sasuke on the end and Sakura in the middle. Then to make sure nothing else happened, he put his hands on both the boys heads. It was the only picture he had in his home. His eyes traveled to one of the drawers.

No, there was another. Reluctantly he got up and walked to his desk. He rested his hand on the drawers handle. It had been a long time since he had opened it. With a swift movement he pulled it open. His hand trembled slightly as he reached in and took out a picture frame. Naruto's eyes glazed over as he looked at the picture. There was a younger Naruto sitting on the shoulders of an older boy. This boy had midnight black hair and ocean blue eyes. A drop of water fell onto the glass. Surprised, he reached up to his face and realized he was crying. He quickly put the picture back and wiped away his tears. Darn it, he should have left it alone. That picture brought back memories, good and bad. At the time, his brother was the only person other than the Hokage that treated him like a person. Jio was his protector. He had even gone as far as attending the ninja academy so he could be better at it. Jio graduated from the ninja academy at the age of eight. Naruto was so happy. Not only because his brother was a ninja, but because Jio tried to teach him some basic moves. Those had been some of his happiest days and he though it would always be like that. He was so wrong.

One day, his brother had to leave. There was no explanation, no reason. He just had to leave. That morning he said a tearful good bye to him. Jio promised to write as often as he could. He said he'd come back the moment he was allowed to. Once he was gone, the Hokage took Naruto to his office and told him something had gone wrong on his last mission. He was being sent away for security reasons. Naruto accepted the explanation even though he wasn't sure what it all meant. It was later that day that he found out just how difficult things would be for him. The kids began to tease him more. Told him no one cared. Not even his brother and that was the reason he left. In one case, the kids beat him up. Their parents just stood there and watched. Even praised them for their deed. On that night, he had held the picture frame to his chest and cried for his brother to come back. For him to protect him from the hateful village. Time passed and his brother kept his word. He received letter every week. The Hokage was nice enough to read him the letters and even teach him so he could do it on his own. It eased the pain, but only a little. Then four years ago, he stopped getting any. Days turned to weeks, but he waited. After some time, he realized his brother had forgotten about him. That was the only reason he could come up with. Jio had abandoned him. It was when he realized this that he put the picture in the drawer and promised he would never cry over it again.

Naruto dragged himself away from the desk and back to his bed. He pulled the covers over him and curled up into a ball. Even though he though his brother would never return, there was a part of him that never gave up hope. It seemed that giving up was something Uzamaki Naruto never learned to do.

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Naruto grumbled as the light from the sun seeped into his room. He pulled the covers over his head to protect his eyes from the light. After a few seconds he sat up and yawned. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Still half asleep, he swung his feet over the edge of his bed. He pushed himself up and walked like a zombie to his bathroom. After washing his face, he changed into his standard orange clothes. He wandered into his kitchen to look for some breakfast. The fridge revealed to have nothing but an expired carton of milk. With a sigh, he closed it and decided to leave. Maybe Iruka-sensei would buy him some ramen. He locked his door and left for the village streets. After wandering around aimlessly, he decided to visit Sasuke. He was still in the hospital recovering. His thoughts flew back to Sasuke's fight. That weird bruise appeared on his body. There was something going on. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was wrong with his friend. Maybe he could ask him when he visited.

Meanwhile two figures approach the village gate. One of the figures was a tall man with long and puffy white hair. His headband had two small horns with kanji that read 'oil'. The other was a bit shorter than his companion reaching to about his neck. He wore a cloak with a hood. The cloak reached to about his ankles and the hood covered the left half his face. Some strands of hair were visible from the hood. The white hair fell over his ocean blue eyes. They were stopped by two shinobi.

"What brings you to our village?"

The white haired man stepped up. "I am here to escort my friend here. He was called upon by the Hokage." the man said as he pointed to the figure behind him.

"What proof do you have?"

"If you mean papers we don't have any, but if you tell him that Jiraiya is here it'll be fine."

A moment of shock passed through the two shinobi. "D-did you say Jiraiya? As in one of the Legendary Sannin?"

Jiraiya gave a toothy grin. "The one and only."

The cloaked figure rolled his eye. The two shinobi's quickly let them pass. The two walked side by side. Once they were a good distance from the gate the cloaked figure turned to his partner.

"I see being a celebrity comes with some perks."

Jiraiya laughed "You better believe it boy! I think I deserve something for all my hard work!"

"For being a Legendary Sannin or writing those perverted books?"

"Hey now those are pieces of literature gold! They have a plot and everything!"

"It's more like porn. Isn't there magazines like that that do the job?"

"Those may have naked woman, but they lack the heart stopping story lines of my books."

"Speaking of heart stopping, you nearly killed me from shock when I accidentally read your rough drafts."

"I never told you to read it."

"I never told you to leave them out."

Jiraiya snorted. "Well, it was high time you found out about relationships between a man and a woman. You were already what thirteen?"

"I was ten." he deadpanned.

"Oh, well, it wouldn't have been prettier had I told you myself."

"You are the most irresponsible adult I know."

The two continued to argue like that until they reached the Hokage tower. Jiraiya let the secretary know that he had to see the Hokage before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He said something about doing research. That could mean only one thing. Peeping in the bath house.

-----------------------

Naruto was currently at a hot springs practicing his chakra control. How did he end up here? Well, after he arrived at the hospital, he found that Kakashi was with Sasuke. He took the opportunity and asked Kakashi to train him. However, Kakashi said he couldn't since he was going to train Sasuke. Instead he asked Ebisu to take over Naruto's training. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. He flat out told Ebisu he refused to be trained by someone weaker than him. Instead Ebisu challenged Naruto. If he could completely escape him then he would tell Kakashi to find another trainer. Naruto accepted the challenge eagerly, thinking it would be a piece of cake. However, much to his chagrin, he found himself unable to escape him. So, he gave up and here he was trying to practice his chakra control by walking on water. At first he had a difficult time, however, it got easier the more he tried. He sighed and concentrated his chakra in his feet. Then he walked towards the spring. To his surprise and happiness, he didn't fall in. He looked towards Ebisu to show him his progress, but something else caught his eye. There was a man by the woman's bath. With his concentration lost, he fell into the water.

"I told you to focus your chakra." Ebisu chided.

Naruto's head popped out of the water. "I was until I saw a man peeping in the woman's bath!"

Ebisu raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"Over there!" he pointed.

Ebisu looked and headed towards the bath house. Naruto jumped out and followed. Ebisu stood behind the man but he didn't seem to notice. So, he tapped his shoulder. Much to his and Naruto's surprise, a frog came out of no where and attacked Ebisu. The man quickly took out Naruto's temporary sensei. He could only stand mouth gaped at what happened. The man surveyed his handy work and nodded in satisfaction. It was then he noticed Naruto, who got scared at the though of also being beaten up. However, much to his relief, the man made no attempt to attack. Instead he picked up Ebisu and motioned for Naruto to follow him. Not having much choice, he did so. They arrived at the hospital and deposited the unconscious Ebisu. Then the man and Naruto headed the park. They sat down at a bench in silence until the man finally spoke.

"Sorry about beating up your um…."

"Ahh, don't worry about it. He was suppose to be my sensei, but if he was beaten up so easily then he isn't worth my time. Say how about you train me!"

The man got up and walked away. "No."

Naruto jumped up. "Train me!"

"No." he answered again.

Naruto was not going to give up. This guy was strong and he would get him to train him! So he followed the white haired man all the way to the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya noticed his companion was no longer in the waiting area. The secretary told him they were waiting for him. He nodded and was about to walk in when her remembered he was being followed. The secretary asked him if the boy was with him. The glare that she gave the blonde haired kid did not go unnoticed by him. He told her yes and told the kid to follow him. The secretary looked shocked before she found her voice to tell him to proceed. He smirked, satisfied with himself. Naruto wasn't sure why the man had allowed him to go to his meeting with the Hokage, but at least he wouldn't loose sight of him. He chose to see this as a good thing. They walked into the office to find the Hokage conversing with a hooded person. The Hokage's gaze shifted to the door. He nodded to the hooded figure and both stood up. The hooded figure turned around.

"You sure took your sweet……" his words died as he laid his eye on the blonde boy accompanying Jiraiya.

"Naruto?"

AN: Now that you're done, please review, just don't flame me. I appreciate it and until next time.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Yay, I got some reviews! Well it was more than I was expecting so I guess that's good. It took me some time to get my ideas together for this chapter. My ideas were going all over the place with what to do with the characters and all that fun stuff. I finally decided on a course of action. I hope it turns out well. Oh and just to let you know, I changed something minor in chapter 1. I decided that Jio's natural hair color should be black instead of blonde. That way his appearance can be similar to the manga. Also thanks to **narutogirl14**, **cartoonwatcher31**, **D2Killerz**, and **Shinobifighter** for reviewing. Well enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or 666Satan.

Naruto looked at the person before him. This was confusing for the young Kyubi vessel. This guy, he was assuming it was a guy, knew his name. As far as he knew, he hadn't met anyone like him. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to one side. Maybe he heard about him and came to look for him. Yeah that must be it! He must have come from Wave Country and heard all about how strong he was from the villagers. Nodding to himself he placed his hands behind his head and gave the stranger a large grin.

"I didn't know I was so famous. So are ya here to challenge me? Cause if you are then I'm gonna kick your ass!"

The three people in the room sweat dropped. The Hokage looked between the two boys. Jio was obviously trying to figure out what had happened to his shy little brother. He decided to intervene on his behalf.

"No, Naruto he is not here to challenge you."

Naruto's grin fell and was replaced by a frown. "Oh...well that doesn't matter as long as this guy." he pointed to Jiraiya, "Trains me!"

The Hokage sighed. Dealing with Naruto was always so tiresome. Whether it was trying to keep him out of trouble or getting him to do D ranked missions.

"Naruto." the boy gave the Hokage his undivided attention. "Do you remember Jio?"

The blonde's hands fell limply to his side. He looked at the ground and nodded. The Hokage knew this was still a very touchy subject for the boy. His life had not gotten any easier with the departure of his brother. It only got harder after Jio stopped contacting them. He walked around his desk and stood by Jio. He gave him a nudge so he would speak.

"Naruto...It's me."

Naruto's head shot up. He looked at him confused again.

"Jio." he said after a few moments of hesitation.

Naruto's eyes widened and he clenched his fists. He took a step back. Jio stepped forward and reached out to him however this caused Naruto to panic. He kicked the doors open and ran past an angry secretary.

"Naruto! Wait!" Jio yelled after the blonde.

The Hokage sighed. He should have known this was going to happen. Although Naruto had not given up on his brother, he figured he might be less than happy if he ever did see him again. Jio was about to run out when he remembered he was in the presence of the Hokage.

"It's alright. You may go after him. Jiraiya and I will have the meeting. Just come back here before sunset."

Jio bowed and ran out of the office. Jiraiya shook his head in amusement. The Hokage motioned for Jiraiya to take a seat. He sat back down behind his desk and lit his pipe. Jiraiya made himself comfortable for the meeting.

"So how was your trip?"

"Pleasant I suppose if you don't count the times that women were trying to kill me."

"I guess that means you did plenty of research during your trip?"

Jiraiya laughed. "That reminds me." he reached into his clothes and pulled out a familiar orange book. He handed to over to the Hokage. "A present for my favorite Sensei."

The Hokage reached out and held it in his hands. "Is this the new one?"

Jiraiya nodded. "You'd be amazed how much faster I can get these done with an editor."

"I know I'm going regret asking this, but who is the editor?"

Jiraiya smiled broadly "Jio."

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Said boy sneezed as he ran after Naruto through a busy Konoha street. _'Sensei is probably talking about me again.'_

He looked ahead of him. Naruto was still running like his life depended on it. The blonde had bumped a few people along the way. They usually responded by yelling curses at him while the people around would give him cold and hateful glares. Naruto either ignored the glares or just didn't notice them. Either way, Jio was not pleased. From what he had seen, Konoha hadn't changed much after all these years. The village looked exactly as the day he left. From the gate to the Hokage's towers. It's outward appearance remained untouched by time and it seemed that it applied to the people as well. Their attitudes and actions towards his brother were still the same. They still hated him for something that was completely out of his control. How he wished he could teach this people a lesson. However, violence against the people would only justify their reasons for hating Naruto even more. He cursed under his breath and continued to chase his brother. He had begun to realize that Naruto was leading him to one of the training grounds.

"Naruto?" a voice said somewhere from his right side.

A pink haired girl looked worryingly at his brother. That was odd. Last time he checked, every kid Naruto's age picked on him and was just generally mean. Perhaps not everything was the same. He gathered chakra in his feet and gained speed. He glanced back to see the girl running after them. He noticed she was using chakra to speed up just like him.

_'Hmm, this is getting interesting.'_

He looked forward to make sure he hadn't lost Naruto. To his relief he was still running towards the training grounds. He looked back again only to find the pink haired girl had disappeared. He shrugged it off. She probably decided to stay out of it. After all, why would someone from the village try to help Naruto? Finally they reached the training ground. Naruto stood in the middle of an open field with his back to Jio. A forest surrounded them. Jio began to wonder why Naruto would lead him here when all of a sudden Naruto turned around and launched three throwing stars at him. Jio countered and threw three of his own. Naruto's battle cry rang out as he charged at Jio.

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"Jio?" the Hokage questioned.

"That's right. It gives him something to do when we're not training plus he said he'd do it if he got a portion of the profits from the sales."

"Does he go with you during your research?"

"No, he flat out refused the first time."

"It's good to know we don't have another Jiraiya on our hands."

"That hurt sensei. Is it so bad if there's another me?"

"We already have a clone of one of our own jounin. The last thing we need is a bunch of teenage peeping toms running around Konoha."

Jiraiya and the Hokage both laughed at the thought. Their laughs subsided and they grew serious.

"Tell me, how did Jio become your student? I was quite surprised when I heard about it from the Tsuchikage."

"I had no choice but to bring him with me. The reason I went to Iwagakure no Sato (Hidden Rock Village) was because of a lead on Akatsuki. By the time I arrived they were already gone, but they left evidence of their visit. The Tsuchikage said they had causalities, but that it was minimal thanks to Jio." Jiraiya then leaned on the Hokage's desk. "Which leads to questions of my own. What was a Leaf shinobi doing there? Last time I checked Leaf and Rock's relationship was still a bit shaky."

The Hokage sighed. "It was, however, the new leaders of Tsuchi no Kuni (Land of Earth) have been improving our relationship. The new Tsuchikage cut a deal with us after we asked for their assistance with Jio. We would become allies as long as they properly sealed Jio's 'tenant' and kept him safe in their village. Should they had done any harm to the boy, Jio would have been retrieved and all political and financial ties would be cut. As you know, recovering from war is not an easy task and the last thing they need is to be left vulnerable. However the new Earth Lord is a very reasonable man as is the new Tsuchikage. More than some other Kage's I've had to deal with."

Jiraiya nodded. "Well, I'm glad to see that they chose to ally themselves with us. It would have been bad if they allied with one of our enemies."

"Yes, we were worried about that as well. So far though, they seem to be making the right decisions to rebuild their country.

Now I have my own question. From a report you sent me, I know Akatsuki is a very dangerous organization. They are composed of a few S-ranked criminals. How was he able to drive them away? He is only a genin."

At that Jiraiya smirked. "Was a genin. He is now a full fledged jounin. After the attack he was promoted to Chunin for protecting the village. Two years later I took him back to take the jounin exam. As to how he drove them away, he tapped into the power of his tenant."

"You mean...Houkou?"

"That's right. After hearing this, I decided to bring him with me to give him better training. Actually I found out later that it was a good move because I was informed that Akatsuki had begun to set their sights on the Bijus."

"Is that why you agreed to come?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "It's only part of the reason. Jio also had reasons to come back."

"Naruto."

"Again it's only part of the reason. You see Sensei, he wishes to annul his status as a Leaf Shinobi and take Naruto with him back to Iwagakure No Sato."

"What!"

"Sarutobi-sensei, he is here to judge the village. If he deems that the village is unworthy of having his brother living here, then he will take Naruto away to a place he can live with out hate. Jio feels that the least he can do after abandoning his brother is improving his life."

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Naruto went skidding across the ground. His head on assault against Jio had failed. Jio had used the art of substitution and a log received the punch that was meant for him. He then grabbed Naruto from behind and threw him to the ground.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

In a blink of an eye, Jio was surrounded by Naruto clones. Jio was both shocked and impressed.

_'Impossible, that's a jounin level move. How in the world did he learn it?'_

A smile formed on his face. A feeling of pride swelled up in him. No matter how he did it, he was proud that Naruto already knew an advanced technique such as that. Naruto ordered his clones to attack. Jio took out a kunai and destroyed a nearby clone. He reached into his pouch and pulled out four throwing stars. He quickly launched them at the incoming clones. No matter if he got rid of those, there were still four clones to deal with. He decided to let them attack him to measure Naruto's strength. Also, he was curious to see what kind of attack he would preform with his clones. He slid the kunai back into his pouch.

"Come get me." he told Naruto.

The blonde growled at his brother. Was he taking him seriously or was he just cocky? Naruto didn't want to dwell on it and attacked. The four clones proceeded to kick Jio into the air.

"U!"

"Zu!"

"Ma"

"Ki!"

"Naruto Rendan!"

Jio then found himself up close and personal with Naruto's foot. Said foot was brought down upon his head. It sent the older Uzumaki into the ground. Naruto landed in a crouched position a few feet away. His remaining clones disappeared. For a few seconds, Jio remained still. Naruto though it was over until he heard a chuckle. Jio's prone form began to move. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and faced Naruto. To his surprise, Jio was smiling even though he had a trail of blood coming from his mouth. Jio calmly wiped the blood away. His smile never leaving his face.

"Well done Naruto. Using your clones to compensate for your lack of speed." he stood up as did Naruto. "Now, let's finish this little fight."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Jio pushed his cloak to his left side. Naruto could see that something resembling a piece of wood was sticking out from his back. Jio grabbed it and the cloak fell back into place. He pointed it at Naruto. Now that he had a better look, the piece of wood was a boomerang. Naruto took a fighting stance.

"I'm glad your back...Nii-san."

Jio's eyes softened at his comment. "I'm glad to be back. Now then, Let's do this."

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The Hokage was not surprised that Jio would want to take Naruto away. No that was not why he had been surprised. It was the the part where he wanted to annul his status as a Konoha shinobi. It was true that even though Jio did not have a demon sealed within him back then, the villagers still treated him just as badly as Naruto. However, he had figured that Jio would have some sort of attachment to the village despite all that.

"When did he decide he no longer wished to be a Leaf shinobi."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose it was when we went for his Jounin exam. When we returned the people of the village were very respectful to him. This was a shock for the boy since the villagers weren't very fond of him when he first arrived. You know, being a Leaf shinobi and all. However it seemed that once the villagers knew who protected them from certain destruction, he gained a certain amount of respect from the shinobi and citizens alike. They were still wary of him, but the respect was still there. I believe he gained more trust after he became a Rock jounin. As you probably already know, Jio became a Rock genin after his tenant was sealed. The Tsuchikage recommended it to him as a way to gain the trust of the people. He was successful and was put into a team. It was here that he made his first friends and they are the reason he wishes to be a Rock shinobi instead of Leaf."

The Hokage stood up and walked over to the large window near his desk. "I suppose I can see why he would rather be somewhere where he is welcomed. However, Naruto too has made friends that he wishes to protect. What will he do if Naruto refuses to leave?"

Jiraiya leaned back in his chair. "I suppose things will get more interesting then."

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Jio let loose his chakra. Naruto could immediately tell something was different about it. Before he could question his brother about it, two people jumped between him and Jio.

"Enough." a women with red eyes said.

"I don't know why you attacked him, but we're ending it now." said a man with a cigarette.

Soon seven people ran into the clearing and joined Naruto. Jio immediately noted they were Konoha genin. Naruto looked at them confused.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Sakura spoke up. "I saw you running from him earlier and went to get help. I couldn't find Kakashi-sensei, but I found Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei and they said they would help."

Naruto looked like he was in nirvana. Sakura was actually worried about him. He snapped out of it and looked at the other genin for an answer.

"We're back up just in case that guy has any friends around." Ino said.

"This is so troublesome..." Shikamaru said as he glanced at Naruto's attacker from the corner of his eye.

Jio watched silently at the interaction between Naruto and the genins. Kurenai and Asuma were getting nervous since Jio had yet to put down his weapon. However, much to their relief, he lowered his boomerang.

_'So, the pink haired girl went for help. Why?'_

This pattern of behavior did not match that of the past. It puzzled and pleased him at the same time. Kurenai decided it was a good idea to find out who their strange attacker was. It was best to know who they were dealing with, especially if he could be a missing-nin.

"State your name and business." she said in a commanding tone.

The other genins stopped talking and focused on him. Jio looked at Naruto to make sure it was okay for him to reveal his identity.

"Go ahead. Oh and take off that cloak while your at it. I haven't seen you for years and you show up like this!" he pointed an accusing finger at Jio.

"You know him?" Sakura asked surprised.

Naruto nodded. "Then why did he attack you?" Shikamaru asked. Though he figured Naruto must have done something to upset the stranger. Naruto was one of those few people who could annoy anyone without even trying.

Meanwhile Jio though about what Naruto said. True, it had been years since he last saw him, but he was afraid his new...look might alarm him and the villagers. That was the only reason he began wearing a cloak in public. It's not like he came to send the village into panic, but then again it could be fun. Naruto put his hands behind his head and gave him an encouraging smile. It wasn't one of his fox grins. No, it was a genuine smile. Something few had received and something few could identify. With that, Jio knew what to do next. He reached up to the hood and pulled it back. He then undid the cloak at his neck and let it fall to the ground. Jio's appearance was strange, to put it simply. The right half of his hair was white while the other was black. His left eye was a golden yellow while his right was ocean blue. His clothing seemed to follow the same pattern as his hair. The long sleeved shirt he wore was half black and white with a zip up white shirt. The short sleeves of this shirt had a small horizontal slit in them. A pouch hung behind him and his shuriken holder was tied to his right leg. His shorts were black with a white paw print on his left side. The shorts reached to his knees and wore the standard ninja sandals. The red scarf around his neck was the only thing out of place. The Konoha shinobi then noticed two forehead protectors tied to his waist. One was Leaf and the other was Rock.

"My name is Jio. Uzumaki Jio. I'm here for a meeting with the Hokage and to see my brother."

The Konoha genins and the Jounins were shocked at such a revelation. Naruto was shocked for a few different reasons, but close enough to those of his friends. This day in general seemed like a good day to just be shocked.

AN: I finally finished. Well just to let you know Houkou is the five-tailed demon. It's suppose to be a canine spirit, but since it wasn't specific I decided to make it a wolf spirit. Why a wolf you may ask? Well you'll just have to read to find out. Any questions or concerns will be answered if asked. Oh and to get a better image of what Jio looks like, I'll post a picture of him in my profile. Though keep in mind he's not exactly the same for obvious reasons. Well that's it. Please review and don't flame me.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hello again. Before I being the chapter I would like to say that I will not change the title. Sorry if the whole 666 thing offends you, but now that I think about it, the reason I decided to include it in the title was because I was hoping it may make people curious. Plus it's a blend of both the manga's I'm crossing over. Well that's the end of that problem. Now I would like to thank the following people for reviewing: **Shirahata** **Emi**, **AngleHinata**, **Yumi-chan00**, and **Prozacfairy**. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan. They belong to the Kishimoto brothers.

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Jio stood calmly as he waited for Naruto and the rest of the Konoha shinobi to do or say something. Anything was welcomed at this point. He was beginning to feel the signs of what people called being uncomfortable. So to take his thoughts away from the Konoha nins, he looked around just to make sure they were gaping at him. You never know. There might be something behind him that was worth gaping at for so long. Like a man in green spandex with bushy eye brows and a shiny bowl hair cut. That would be a sight to behold, but lucky for him there was no such thing (AN: the poor fool.). His sanity could be compromised if someone like that was to appear. After confirming that there really was nothing else around him, he turned back to the Konoha nins.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked innocently enough.

Naruto, being the loud mouth Shinobi he is, jumped up to him and grabbed his head. He pulled the hair just to make sure it wasn't a wig. He'd seen some people around the village get theirs blown off on windy days. For all he knew, Jio could have gone bald and got a weird wig to cover up his baldness. After confirming the hair was indeed attached to Jio's head, he continued to examine it suspiciously.

"What the hell happened to your hair? Did someone play a practical joke on you or something?"

Sakura walked towards Naruto and also decided to comment on the strange phenomena that was Jio. "Is that really natural? And here I though my hair color was strange."

Jio wrestled his head out of Naruto's hands and half heartedly glared at his brother. He would have appreciated if Naruto hadn't attempted to pull his hair off.

"And what's up with your eyes?" Naruto asked with a frown. "How come they're different colors? That's just freaky."

Shikamaru came closer to the three. The others followed him to listen to what he had to say about this whole situation.

"Although strange eyes are not uncommon in Konoha," Shikamaru said referring to the Hyuga's, Uchiha's and, of course, Kurenai. "It is strange to have someone with two different eye colors. From Naruto's reaction, I would say you weren't always like this."

_'Smart kid.'_ Jio thought absently.

"You are correct. This is a result of an...accident during a mission."

Naruto's eyes widened. Was that the reason he left? But still even if his appearance had changed, that shouldn't have been reason enough for him to leave. How had this been a security issue?

"What kind of accident?" Shikamaru pushed.

Naruto waited anxiously for Jio to answer. He was finally going to know what had happened. Jio plastered a smile on his face.

"Sorry but that information is classified." he turned to Naruto. "I have to get back to my meeting with the Hokage. I'll meet up with you later. Is there a place we can meet?"

Naruto grinned. "I'll meet you at Ichiraku's! We'll eat ramen to celebrate!"

Jio strapped the boomerang onto his back. "They're still around?"

Naruto nodded his head vigorously. "You bet! I'm their number one customer!"

Jio smiled. It was good to hear that. Old man Ichiraku was one of the few people in the village that treated them well. That was the reason they began to eat there so much. It was the only place they could **get** something.

"Okay, I'll meet you there in about an hour or two."

"Right!"

Jio waved good-bye to the other shinobi before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"I'm gonna tell him to teach me how to do that." Naruto said excitedly.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura said uncertainly.

"Yeah?"

"Is he really related to you?"

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah he is. Why? What's wrong?"

"Well, you guys are nothing alike."

"Huh? What do ya mean?" he said as he tilted his head to one side.

"This is so troublesome." Shikamaru said as he walked away. There was still time for him to go cloud watching, unless Asuma decided to try to get him to train. The key word being try. The other shinobi's decided to go about their business since Naruto was safe. Sakura remained with Naruto and though about what to do next. She was curious to find out more about Jio, who seemed to pop out of nowhere. Well if she wanted to know more she could just ask Naruto or go with him to Ichiraku's. Knowing Naruto, he would probably stretch the truth about some things. Like when he told Konohamaru and his friends about their missions. It was probably safer to just talk to Jio herself.

"Oi Sakura-chan!"

"What!" She snapped at him for disturbing her thoughts.

Naruto backed away slightly. The last thing he needed was to get pounded into the ground.

"I was just gonna tell you that I'm gonna go now. I gotta warn Old man Ichiraku that my brother is back."

"Do you mind if I come along?"

Naruto could have died happy then. Sakura was asking him if she could come along! Like a...

"Not like a date." She added firmly, as if she could read him mind.

That dampened his mood, but didn't let is show. "Sure it's okay Sakura-chan! Come on lets go!"

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Jio arrived in the Hokage's office. Jiraiya was leaning back on his chair while the Hokage was looking out the window. He smiled at Jio.

"So did you find him?"

Jio nodded and returned the smile. "Yes, I believe we'll be able to work things out."

The Hokage sat back down and sighed. "What's this I hear about annulling your status as a Konoha shinobi?"

Jio's smile disappeared as quickly as it came. He glared at Jiraiya. He was actually hoping to break that news later. "And also taking Naruto away?" Sandaime added.

If looks could kill, then Jiraiya would be dead ten times over. That little bit of news he was hoping to break a LOT later. Like after he had convinced Naruto to leave.

"I suppose there's no sense in hiding it. I just wish **somebody** could have waited before speaking."

"Just wanted to help out my student." Jiraiya said.

"Sometimes I could do with out your help." Jio commented sourly.

"Jio," began the Hokage. "Is there anyway for you to reconsider? I know you don't have many fond memories of Konoha, but whether these people know it or not, you are an important member of this village."

Jio didn't answer and looked at the ground in thought. "Naruto loves this village despite what he's gone through."

"Naruto doesn't know another home. That's why he's attached to this place. If he found a place that treated him kindly then he would come to see how Konoha was far from being a home." Jio argued.

"He's begun to be accepted." he added. "He hopes to become Hokage and gain the recognition and respect of the village. I'm certain he will accomplish this. He's already begun to gain the respect and acknowledgment of his peers and several other shinobi. He won't just leave his village. It would be like betraying them. Naruto isn't someone who would betray his friends."

Jio frowned. If Naruto indeed had strong ties with those few companions he had, then it would be difficult to get him to leave. After all, he too would not abandon his friends. They were very important people to him. Still this little bit of information would not affect his decision to annul **his** status with Konoha.

"Should you no longer be a Konoha shinobi, then Naruto would feel you betrayed him too." The Hokage added. He really didn't want Jio to defect. It would be a great loss to Konoha even if the council refused to see the truth. Both the Uzumaki boys were important to Konoha's future.

Jiraiya watched his student from the corner of his eye. Before they came, he had been so determined to cut ties with Konoha and take Naruto away. Now his resolve had been shaken and all because of the very person he came to help. Perhaps he should train the blonde shinobi. He seemed to have the ability to affect people even when he wasn't around. You didn't find that quality in many people these days.

"What exactly to you want me to do?" Jio asked after a few minutes of thought.

"Give the village another chance. Give yourself another chance to find something worth protecting."

Jio sighed. "I suppose I could give it another shot, but if I find that I still do not feel the village is a place I can call home, I will annul my status. Deal?"

The Hokage nodded with a smile. It was better than having him flat out refuse. Now that that was settled, he had other questioned that needed to be answered.

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Sakura sat at one of the stools at Ichiraku's. She watched with mild amusement as Naruto and Ichiraku-sama put up a banner that read "WELCOME BACK JIO!" Ayame, Ichiraku-sama's daughter, took a seat next to Sakura.

"Boy this is sure turning out to be a busy day."

"So do you know Jio-sama?"

"Well I don't know him that well. I was ten when I first met both of them. Jio became a genin shortly after I met him so I saw him even less. Naruto on the other hand, came often. Actually my dad told me they were our very first customers."

"Figures, Naruto would be the first."

"I wonder how much Jio has changed."

"Well I can tell you he's nothing like Naruto." Sakura informed her.

"Really?"

Sakura nodded. "He's more calm and collected. At least that's what I think. I could be completely wrong. For all I know he was just acting like that in front of us."

Naruto bounced over to them. "I'm gonna keep watch for him. He should be here soon."

The girls nodded and they got up and got behind the counter. Naruto insisted they surprise Jio. Though it was probably not a good idea to surprise a ninja, they doubted Jio would attack them. At least that's what Naruto said and even then he didn't say it very reassuringly. Speaking of Naruto, he looked around madly for any signs of Jio. He stopped moving around and focused in one direction. His eyes widened and smiled before jumping over the counter and joining the others. Ichiraku-sama proceeded to turn off the lights before hiding.

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Jio and Jiraiya walked down the semi-crowded streets of Konoha. He looked up at the sky. The meeting with the Hokage was sure long, but at least it was over. He and Jiraiya explained to the Hokage what Akatsuki had been doing in Hidden Rock. They were after ancient artifacts known as O-parts. These ancient weapons were made by the Bijus themselves. They could be very powerful in the hands of those who could wield them. Jio told the Hokage that he was one of those people and the boomerang he had was an O-part. He had worried that Akatsuki might come after Jio even more but he assured him that Akatsuki seemed uninterested with the O-parts. For the moment. The Hokage was interested in knowing how Jio could wield it. Jiraiya explained that long ago, when each of the major lands were under the rule of a Biju, the demons gave chosen humans demonic powers to use these weapons. They were called O-part Technicians (OPT's). These humans were used as weapons to fight the demons wars since they did not want their own do die. Corrupting a human was a piece of cake for them. However as time went on, the humans grew more powerful until each demon was sealed in it's respective land. Only then were humans able to built their societies. It was after this that the OPT's were disposed of. They had been deemed too dangerous to have around. They were supposedly wiped out, but there were a few who survived. These survivors had children and the descendants were roaming around to this very day. Though now the O-parts and the OPT's were though of as only legends.

Jio sighed. At least the Hokage was able to figure out that he could use it since he had one of those ancient demons sealed within him. Naruto also has the potential to use it, but from what the Hokage told them, he couldn't access the Kyubi's chakra at will. That could easily be fixed with proper training. Another piece of information Jio told the Hokage was that he suspected he was a descendant of an OPT. It was the only way he could have taken in a Biju at the age of eight since normally demons could only be sealed inside new born babies and not die. With the demon chakra already in his body, it was only a matter of adjusting. Still it was only a theory and he had no evidence to back it up. Without knowing who his parents were, there was no way he could be certain.

He looked at his surroundings to keep his mind from thinking about his parents. The people that were still out gave him weird looks. Jiraiya had somehow convinced him not to wear the cloak. Though he was worried that there might be some sort of riot, but for the most part the people ignored him. He was grateful for that because he knew it would not last long. Jio saw Ichiraku's come into view. It brought back memories of the day he brought Naruto for the first time. Naruto was so happy that someone did not give him cold glares. After that, Jio made it a point to bring him here whenever he had the money. Then Jio noticed that Ichiraku's lights weren't on. He wondered if it was closed, but it was too early for any business to close, especially a restaurant. He and Jiraiya exchanged doubtful looks before proceeding to push the curtains aside. They were both taken by surprise as the lights were suddenly turned on.

"Surprise! Welcome back Jio!"

Jio's broke out into a smile. This was certainly unexpected. Naruto jumped over the counter and reintroduced Ayame and her father. Jiraiya feint a hurtful look because his name was not included in the banner. Everyone laughed at Jiraiya's antics. They took a seat and dug into the special meal he cooked up. While they ate, Naruto informed his brother all about the events of the Chunin exams.

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Meanwhile at the Inuzuka residence, Kiba was telling his family about the encounter with Jio. At the mention of the name Hana slammed her hands on the table.

"Who did you say?" she asked in a calm, but scary voice.

Kiba sensed he was in danger and quickly told her. "H-his name is Uzumaki Jio. S-says he's Naruto's brother."

"Where is he?"

"Ichiraku's!"

Hana excused herself and ran out with the Haimaru Triplets. For a few moments, Kiba had actually feared for his life. Who knew women could be so scary? Hana had a dangerous look in her eyes as she ran towards the restaurant.

_'That bastard! After all these years and he doesn't even bother to say hi!'_

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Temari was taking a stroll. It was a treat considering in Suna it was sometimes too cold to go out at night or a dust storm was blowing through. Konoha had really nice weather compared to her desert home. Even with it's nice weather, Temari couldn't consider ever leaving her home. It'd have to take something extremely unexpected for her to even consider it. Just as she was thinking that something caught her eye. It was a restaurant, but not the restaurant itself. No what caught her attention was a group of people that was standing outside. They were waving good-bye to a man and a girl. Here eyes widened as she saw the boy with black and white hair and an unusually long red scarf. Uncontrollable anger raged through her. It was **him**.

Jio was the first to walk away with Naruto behind him, Sakura to his side, and Jiraiya trailing them. Suddenly he stopped. He felt an unhealthy amount of anger directed at him.

"Duck." he told Naruto.

The young blonde looked at his brother strangely as Jio ducked. The next thing he knew something hit his head. Hard. Jio caught the object as it bounced off Naruto's head. Naruto laid on the ground. He was sporting a new lump on his head. Sakura got in a fighting stance and searched for the enemy.

"Remain calm Sakura-san. She's not after you." Jio said as he inspected the weapon.

"She?" Sakura asked confused.

Jio pointed the long object at a blonde girl who was currently radiating enough killer intent that even Jiraiya was nervous. He had learned long ago that you do not want to get on a womens bad side. Especially if that women happened to be a kunoichi.

"Give me back my fan you bastard!"

Jio rested the fan on his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

This only seemed to infuriate her more. Sakura looked at him Jio in disbelief. "You don't even know who she is and she's attacking you!"

Jio shook his head. Sakura inspected the girl more closely. She had four pigtails...wait. There was only one girl she'd seen with four pigtails.

"Your the nin from Sand!"

"Sand nin?" Jio questioned as he walked towards her. He stopped in front of her and held out her fan which she quickly took. "Temari, right?"

The sand kunoichi growled in response. "You might want to move." Jio said before he jumped back. A giant dog landed where he was once standing.

Temari jumped back as well. Soon two other dogs joined the first. Jio looked up at a nearby building. There stood a girl with red triangle's on her cheeks. Her brown hair was done up in a pony tail.

"Oh crap." Jio said rather calmly.

The girl jumped off and her three dogs surrounded Jio. "Yo, Hana."

"Don't 'Yo' me you bastard. How dare you come back after not hearing from you for six year! I'll show you to just disappear."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Temari stepped in. "I get first dibs on beating him into the ground!"

"What right do you have!" Hana retorted.

Jio meanwhile looked at the dogs with worry. He really did not want to fight them off. Animal abuse was something he didn't want to be charged with. While the girls fought over who would get to beat him up, he turned towards his companions.

"Sensei, take Naruto home. We'll begin his training tomorrow morning. Sakura-san, please go home. I'll take care of this. It's my problem after all."

"Are you sure?" she asked him a little worried. From what she'd seen, Temari was a powerful kunoichi for a genin and Hana was a Chunin.

"Don't worry about him." Jiraiya told Sakura. "He is, after all, my student. Come on, I'll make sure you get home. Naruto should be coming around soon."

Sakura nodded and left with the Sannin. Jio turned back towards the bickering girls and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

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AN: Yay, it's done. Just a few minor notes. Just in case your wondering: 1) Jio is 14 years old 2) Hana is in no way going to be romantically involved with Jio and 3) Temari I'm considering. That's about it, oh and I added a new pic for Jio. Check it out if you want to. Anyway please review and no flames.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hello again everyone. It's time for another installment of 666Naruto. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. If you reviewed thank you and if you didn't it's okay too. I can tell if people are at least checking out the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan.

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Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. He buried his face in his pillow, trying to figure why his head hurt so much. He sat up on his bed and rubbed his head. Slowly he opened his eyes. After his vision had adjusted, he came to a startling realization. The room he was in was not his own. He began to panic. What if he had been kidnapped! How many were there? Were they ninjas? He pushed those thoughts aside so he could calm himself enough to observe his surroundings. The room didn't appear to be booby trapped. As a matter of fact, it was a rather nice room, like one you'd find in a hotel. Nothing compared to the one in his old run down apartment. He looked down at himself to find he was in pajamas. If he had really been kidnapped then why had he been changed? Maybe these were nice kidnappers.

_'Or a bunch of sick perverts.'_ Naruto though with disgust. He had already gotten his first kiss stolen by a guy (which he kept telling himself didn't really count) but now he was faced with the possibility of getting raped!

_'NOOOOO! I will not loose my virginity to a man!'_ he though with determination.

"So what the hell happened to you?" A voice from the other side of the door said. The voice sounded like an older man.

Naruto stopped his thoughts of how to permanently incapacitate his kidnappers from ever having a relationship with a women to listen to the voice. He carefully walked over to the door and placed his ear up against it.

"Whoever said, 'Hell hath no no fury like a woman scorned' wasn't kidding." said a much different voice. This one sounded like a younger boy. Perhaps a teenager.

Naruto's brain took this information and began to formulate thoughts. Images of the day before were brought up for him to examine. He stopped at one image in particular. It was that of a boy with black and white hair and a man with long spiky white hair. You could practically see the a light bulb light over his head. These people weren't his kidnappers. It was his brother and Jiraiya! Relief washed over him. He was not going to get raped! With those thoughts out of the way, he left the room. He followed the voices and ran down a hall until he came to a rather large living room. The occupants stopped their conversation and turned to the blonde haired shinobi.

"Hey, did you sleep well?" Jio asked.

Naruto looked at his brother oddly. First of all, Jio was holding a piece of raw meat over his right eye and a pack of ice on his head. There was a bruise on his left cheek. He walked closer and upon further examination, he concluded there was another bruise on his right cheek. Both were in the shaped hands. There was dried blood on his bottom lip and on his clothes, which were torn. Overall, it looked like he had a fight with a tornado and the tornado won. Wait were those teeth marks on his arms?

"What the hell happened to you?" he finally asked.

Jiraiya laughed at that. Jio had just finished telling him that the girls from last night had done that to him. Though he was curious as to what exactly they did to him. Jio gave his brother a weak smile.

"Well Hana-san, her dogs, and Temari-san decided to use me as a human punching bag. I hope those animals had all their shots..."

Jiraiya whistled. "They did quite a number on you. I'm almost ashamed to call you my student. Getting beat up by two girls, it's embarrassing."

Jio snorted. "You're one to talk. I didn't see you fighting back when those women in Wave country caught you peeping."

Jiraiya coughed. "Yes, well, they were civilians and I could not fight back."

"There were several kunoichi from different villages there as well."

"How could you tell?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it was the shurikens they threw at you after they were dressed."

Jiraiya wisely kept his mouth shut. Naruto, on the other hand, was not done.

"So who are these girls anyway? I know the Temari chick is from Sand, but who's Hana?"

"Well she's an Inuzuka. She and I were on the same team along with a guy named Ikuhara Koyuki."

"What! Inuzuka? Like Kiba, but then that means they're related."

Jio shrugged. "I guess that's a possibility. I think she told me she had a younger brother, but I can't be sure. It's not like I paid much attention to her back then."

"If you guys were on the same team, why did she beat you up? And why did the Sand chick help?"

"I...uh, did something to make them angry..."

"Like what?" Jiraiya pried.

"Uh..."

"Tell me what you did to Hana first!" Naruto yelled.

"Okay, okay...one at a time." Jio set down the piece of meat and sighed. "Well I didn't say good-bye to Hana-san after I left and well never sent word to her or Koyuki. So when she found out I was back she was pissed for not saying **anything** to her."

"What about the Sand kunoichi?" Jiraiya asked with a smirk.

Jio glared at him. "You already know."

"But I don't! Tell me!" Naruto wined.

If you looked closely, a hint of red could be seen on Jio's cheeks. Though it was hard to see with the purple bruises covering everything.

"Jiiiioooo!" Naruto continued his assault.

"I...kissed her..."

There was complete silence for a few seconds. Then Naruto broke it. "WHAT!"

"I was sparring with her and her brother and I got careless! So to save my butt I kissed her to get her off guard, but that only made her even more angry! I ran for my life after that!" Jio quickly said to justify his actions. "She's still angry about it and every time she sees me she want to beat my head in. She keeps yelling something about stealing her first kiss. It was unfortunate that Hana happened to find me too because both of them unleashed their holy rage on me."

Jiraiya snickered all the while. Perhaps Jio would be more like him in a couple more years. Though he was putting up quite a fight to not end up like the toad hermit. Well if he failed with Jio there was the option of corrup... I mean guiding Naruto.

"Wow, girls can be scary." Naruto concluded. "Like Ino and Sakura-chan. They seem to get monstrous strength when they're mad. Is it some sort of strength enhancing jutsu?"

Jio and Jiraiya both chuckled. Thought you could never rule out the possibility. Women seemed to become deadly and quite efficient with weaponry when their rage exploded.

Jio shook his head. "I don't think so Naruto, but it is quite a strange phenomenon. Anyway how's your head? Jiraiya told me you got pounded on by Sakura-san."

His previously forgotten head pain came back to him. He rubbed a spot that seemed to be throbbing the most. "So that's why my head hurts!" he exclaimed.

Seeing as Naruto was not going to be able to tell him what happened, he turned to Jiraiya.

"Well..." he began.

FLASHBACK

Naruto had begun to stir in Jiraiya's arms. The toad hermit stopped and set Naruto on the ground. He helped balance him until he was able to walk.

"What happened?"

"You got hit on the head." Sakura answered.

Naruto rubbed the lump on his head. Jiraiya informed Naruto that Jio was taking care of some business while they walked Sakura home. At that he forgot about his head and looked at Sakura excitedly. They started their trek again with Naruto walking next to Sakura and Jiraiya following closely behind. They were only a few houses away from Sakura's house when a voice stopped them.

"Boss!"

Naruto looked behind him. Konohamaru and his two friends, Udon and Moegi. They ran up to the blonde shinobi with smiles.

"What are you doing?" Konohamaru asked. His eyes then fell on Jiraiya and looked at him with admiration as did his friends.

Naruto ignored their looks (or maybe he just didn't notice?) and answered. "Walking Sakura-chan home." he said quite happily.

That snapped Konohamaru out of his daze. "So your finally..." he held up his pinky.

Naruto blushed, Jiraiya took out a pen and paper and began writing down something, while Sakura just looked annoyed. Konohamaru patted Naruto's arm.

"That's nice boss, but I think a less macho chick would be better for you."

At that Sakura saw red. Moegi and Udon felt the killer intent from Sakura and moved out of the line of fire. Naruto and Konohamaru were not so lucky. They noticed a little too late and could not escape the angry kunoichi. (Deja vu anyone?)

END FLASHBACK

"And that's about it." Jiraiya finished.

"Oh yeah." Naruto said.

"Sounds like both of us have problems with violent women. Well enough of this." He took the bag of ice off his head and set it on the table. "Today your training starts." he said to Naruto.

At the mention of training, Naruto's eyes lit up. "Do I get to learn a supper cool jutsu?"

"Maybe, but first there are some things we need to work on. Jiraiya-sensei is going to take you out to get started. I'll meet up with you later."

"Eh, what are you going to do?"

Jio pointed to his face. "I can't go out looking this. I'm going to get it taken care of."

"Okay, then I guess I'll see you later!"

Jio nodded. "Uh, first you might want to get changed."

Naruto smiled sheepishly and ran back to the room he was in to look for his clothes.

"Going to have your friend fix you up?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, unlike the Kyubi, he doesn't give me super fast healing. However, he can, just not as fast."

Jiraiya smiled. Truth be told, he had had a bad impression of the Bijus for obvious reasons. However, after traveling with Jio and learning more about his tenant, his view began to change. Houkou couldn't be all bad if he was helping Jio master control of his powers. Jiraiya looked towards the direction Naruto ran.

"Think he'll like his new outfit?"

A yell was heard from Naruto's temporary room.

"Guess that answers your question." Jio said with a smirk.

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Naruto was back at the hot springs Ebisu had taken him too. He was again trying to walk on water. Unfortunately he fell in...again. He looked down at his new clothes, which were now wet. Apparently, his old orange jump suit was deemed unfit for a shinobi by his brother and Jiraiya. So they got him a black t-shirt with a thin black vest. The vest had several zippers and pockets. On the back was a red spiral. Instead of pants, he now had a pair of long shorts that went past his knees. It reminded him of Jio's shorts. He supposed he didn't mind the new clothes, but he really missed his orange jumpsuit. Naruto punched the water in frustration. If this was his training, then he could have worked on it without the help of Jiraiya. Speaking of which, he was busy peeping into the womens baths. Every now and then, he would chuckle. Naruto looked at the toad sennin with disgust.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Jiraiya looked annoyed at the Kyubi vessel. "Keep it down will you! I'm trying to do some research!"

"How can you call that research!" Naruto yelled at the toad sannin.

"Well I'm a writer." he pulled out a book. "This is my master piece."

Naruto looked shocked. That book. It was the one that Kakashi was always reading! That pervert was the one who wrote it?

"You wrote that nasty book!"

Jiraiya looked indigent. How dare this brat call his book nasty!

"Stop peeping and train me!"

Jiraiya humped and went back to 'work'. Naruto did not appreciate being ignored. He smiled evilly to himself. Oh, he would train him after this.

"Oi Ero-sennin!"

"What did you call me!"

Naruto made a hand sign and smiled. Jiraiya prepared himself for whatever attack Naruto might unleash on him. Then again, Naruto was only a genin. There was nothing he couldn't handle from a genin. This attack, however, could topple the mightiest of men. A blonde **naked** girl was posing for him. Jiraiya could not help but gape at the blonde.

"Oh yeah! I like you a lot better now!"

Naruto blanched at Jiraiya's response. Then again, he should have expected it. Jiraiya was an open pervert.

"What's this jutsu? Huh? Eh?" he asked as he observed Naruto from all sides.

"I...call it Sexy No Jutsu."

"Ohhh, what creativity! Your a genius!"

_'I get the feeling that all adults are very weak against this jutsu...' _Naruto thought.

Well he could use this to his advantage. He gave Jiraiya the dreaded puppy dog eyes.

"Then...you'll help with my training?"

"YES! But there's a condition."

"Condition? What?" He asked very innocently.

Jiraiya turned away. A trickle of blood ran from his nose as he fiddled with his finger. Naruto only watched on with confusion. Jiraiya looked at Naruto over his shoulder.

"In my presence, you must always be like that."

Naruto immediately changed back.

"Yeah right! I knew you were just a pervert!"

"No, I'm not just a pervert!"

"What! Yeah right..." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him.

"I am..." Jiraiya dramatically pause. "A SUPER PERVERT!"

Naruto just looked at him with disbelief. _'I'm gonna complain to Jio about this...'_

Jiraiya coughed before he went any further. "I'm joking. Okay kid just go back to what you were doing."

Naruto jumped towards the spring excitedly. "Alright!" At least he was able to get him to help.

He concentrated his chakra on his feet and walked towards the water. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. No sooner had he stepped on the water, he fell right in. Naruto walked out of the spring.

"I don't need these clothes! Damn it!" Naruto said and sat down on the floor. His frustration was clearly visible on his face.

Jiraiya walked over to the Kyubi vessel. "Hey, pull out your chakra again."

Naruto shrugged and did as he was told. Jiraiya observed Naruto closely. He smirked as he saw the seal appear. He was impressed with his previous student. The seal was designed so that some of the Nine-Tails chakra slipped out between the seals to combine with Naruto's chakra. All this to protect him. However, that had been stopped by a five part seal. It was disrupting their chakras so they couldn't mix. Well that explained why he had bad chakra control. The style of the seal was rough.

_'Looks like Orochimaru's work.'_ he concluded as he gathered his chakra in his fingers. He hid his hand behind his back.

"Hey come here." he told Naruto. The boy did as he was told and walked over to him. "Raise your hands like this." he demonstrated for him.

_'Jeez, this guy's bossy.'_ he though, but nonetheless complied.

Before he could even react, Jiraiya plunged his hand into Naruto's stomach. '_Five-Part Unseal!'_

Naruto fell to his knees and hunched over. "Wh-what did you do?"

Jiraiya bended down to him. "I just hit a pressure point to relax you. Try walking on the water again."

The blonde shinobi looked at him skeptically, but again, he complied. To his surprise, he was able to walk on the water with no problem.

"I don't understand how, but it worked!" Naruto said excitedly.

Jiraiya looked on proudly. _'It's about time he learned how to control the Nine-Tails chakra.'_

"Good job kid. Now I'm going to teach you a special technique."

"Really?"

Jiraiya nodded. Naruto jumped over to him excitedly. If there was one thing he like it was learning new jutsus. This day was getting better and better.

"What, what, what!"

"First well wait for your brother to show up. I think he can help speed up the process. While we wait, I have to make sure you understand that you have two types of chakras."

"Two types...?"

"Have you ever felt it?"

Naruto though for a moment. "Now that you mention it...it seemed like there was a time my chakra suddenly appeared and I got all strong though I don't remember very well. But I know that it felt different from my normal chakra. It's kinda hard to explain, but if I used colors then normally my chakra is yellow while this one was red."

"Alright." Jiraiya said, satisfied with the answer. "Put your clothes on and keep practicing walking on the water. Once Jio gets here we'll start."

"Right!"

Naruto hurriedly put on his clothes and got back to training. Jiraiya observed the blonde shinobi with amusement. He remembered a time when Jio was just as energetic and innocent as Naruto. But things like innocence don't last for a shinobi. He changed once he did some missions with him. He had to so he could be an efficient shinobi. Jio grew up too fast...these kids all grow up too fast. Unable to enjoy their childhood because of what they do. Some of them loosing their way and committing horrible crimes. Just like...he shook the thoughts aside. It was pointless to think about it now. What was done was done, and they had to live with it. He turned away from Naruto and took out his pen and paper. He needed to get back to his research.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jio stepped out of Jiraiya's house. That's right, even thought the toad sannin no longer lived in Konoha, he still had his home. He stretched and made sure his boomerang was strapped safely to his back before taking to the streets. His long red scarf trailed behind him as he walked towards the hot springs. He noticed the villagers were giving him the look. Yes, he was quite familiar with it. It was the one they were fond of giving Naruto. The cold and hateful glare. He brushed it off and continued his journey. He had wondered how long it would take for them to figure out who he was.

**'Are you better now pup?'**

_'Much better. I appreciate that Houkou.'_

**'So are you going to help him with Kyubi?'**

_'Of course, but I can only do so much. It'll be up to him to convince Kyubi to help.'_

**'Kyubi is reasonable. I'm sure he'd help even if your brother didn't ask.'**

_'Sounds like you know him.'_

**'You might say we were once friends. A long, long time ago.'**

Jio smiled as Houkou cut their mental link. One advantage to having a powerful demon sealed within you was the good advice you got. Another was an insanely good immune system. Jio hadn't gotten sick since the day Houkou was sealed within him! Yup, a healthy shinobi was a lot more useful than a sick one. However, Houkou could not heal him at an instant. It took him awhile to be able to heal any major damage, like a broken bone. To enhance the process though, Jio learned some basic healing jutsu so he could combine it with Houkou's healing abilities. It still wasn't as fast as let's say Kyubi's ability to heal, but it was good enough for him. He wished he could have used it during the fight, if you called it that, with Hana and Temari, but he didn't want to arouse suspicion. With them or his brother. If he knew Hana then she'd most likely tell her family about her...outing. And if Hana's brother was familiar with Naruto, then he would most likely ask Naruto about it as well. That's why he didn't bother to get his injuries healed until now. Explaining to Naruto about the demon sealed within him was something he wanted to do later today. Jio stiffened as he sensed a familiar person coming his way.

"You sure look better."

He turned around stiffly towards the speaker. It was Hana...and a boy with black hair up to his shoulders. His eyes also black and was wearing a Chunin vest. It was Koyuki, he was sure. His enhanced senses was another blessing...sometimes.

"Yo."

"Don't 'Yo' us!" they both yelled.

_'Guess they're still sore about it.'_

"YOU!"

_'Crap, not again.'_

He turned around less stiffly this time. Temari was standing with a guy in face paint and a black jumpsuit. Jio recognized him as her brother. Though the last time he saw him, he didn't have so much face paint. Kankuro smirked at him.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here. Temari was complaining about you all last night."

"I can imagine." Jio deadpanned.

Temari opened her fan. As much as Jio wanted to fight, he really couldn't for two reasons. One, he needed to go meet Jiraiya and Naruto at the hot springs. And two, they were in the middle of a crowded street. Collateral damage was bound to occur along with a few injured civilians. The villagers already didn't want him there. He really didn't want to give them another reason get rid of him. He decided to defuses the situation with Temari since she was the most dangerous. Not that Hana wasn't either.

"Temari, that's not a really good idea."

"And why not?"

"We are in the middle of a crowded street. And if I'm not mistaken, you are a foreign shinobi. If you were to hurt a leaf civilian you would be in big trouble."

Yes, Temari was dangerous, but also reasonable. She growled at him, but at least she put her weapon away.

"And so the great Jio survived another encounter with my sister." Kankuro laughed.

"Can it Kankuro." Jio said unamused. He then eyed both of the girls warily. "Are you two going to jump me again? Because if you are then I'm going to ask for you to schedule a time and place. I'm busy today."

"Oh really?" Hana asked.

"With what?" Koyuki asked. "I would have though you'd spend sometime with us after going missing for all these years!"

Jio flinched at that statement. They were really rubbing it in. "Sorry, but I have to go help with my brother's training. He is in the Chunin finals after all."

"You have a brother?" Temari asked in disbelief.

"Of course, his name is Naruto." Jio said with a smirk.

"That loud mouth?" Kankuro said in complete disbelief. "You've got to be kidding."

"No I'm not. Now if you excuse me I've got things to do." He looked at Hana and Koyuki. "Well talk later."

Before they could stop him, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. It surprised them that he could do that. They began to wonder what else he was capable of.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto and Jiraiya's attention was diverted to a puff of smoke that appeared in the middle of the springs. Jio stood with his arms crossed on the water.

"JIO!" Naruto said excitedly. Now he could learn whatever it was Jiraiya was going to teach him.

"Let's get started." Jiraiya announced.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AN: Another chapter done. Hope you enjoyed it and review if you can or want to. Just no flames.

Edit: Oh and I'm aware that Kyubi and Houkou were enemies. I'll explain how Houkou and Kyubi got to be the mortal enemies that everyone knows them to be in the next chapter...when Naruto finally makes contact with Kyubi.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Well guys, here's the next chapter (as if it's not obvious). Aside from this new chapter I also have some news, 666Satan has been licensed by Viz. The name has been changed for obvious reasons so now it's called O-Parts Hunter. It should be coming out some time this fall so look for it. Thanks to GMan, Urd-20, Shirahata Emi, and darksentinant for reviewing. You guys rock. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan. I just like messing with the characters.

Jio and Naruto sat across from each other in an open field away from the village. Jio was trying to find a good way to break it to the blonde that he was the container of the Kyubi. It was difficult to just out right tell him since he could get in trouble for breaking the Hokage's law. Hence the reason they were a few miles away from the village. Seeing as this task was dangerous, Jiraiya had 'convinced' his student to be the one to do it since he wasn't ready to die. As bad as this was, there was no doubt in his mind it was necessary. Once Naruto knew about Kyubi, he could be taught to control it's power. Of course the demon would have to willingly help, but from what Jiraiya told him, it seemed that it had already happed at least one. Jio took a deep breath before beginning.

"Do you know why you have those whisker mark?" Yes, that seemed like a good way to start. He could move slowly from there.

"It's because of the Kyubi." Naruto answered solemnly.

"That's ri..." Jio's words died when he realized what Naruto had said. "What!"

Naruto bowed his head. "Mizuki-sensei told me when he tricked me into stealing a scroll from the Hokage. I took it into the forest and learned Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. Then Iruka-sensei came to find me because everyone in the village was looking for me. Mizuki-sensei showed up and attacked Iruka-sensei. Mizuki-sensei then told me that I was hated in the village because the Yondaime sealed Kyubi within me. Did you know about this?" he lifted his head and looked sadly at him.

Jio's fist's clenched. He remembered Mizuki. That good for nothing teacher. He didn't even teach! All he did was watch Iruka do all the work! If Mizuki hadn't been executed by now, he'd gladly do it.

"No, not at first at least. I found out from the Hokage just before I left."

Naruto looked at his brother seriously. "Are you going to tell me why you left?"

Jio smiled and nodded. "Naruto, I'm just like you now."

Naruto looked confused. Just like him?

"We both contain a very powerful being." he said as a hint.

Naruto's eyes widened as he came to a realization. "You have a demon too!" he jumped up and pointed at him. Jio nodded.

"B-but how?"

"Well, that day we had been assigned a mission to escort some merchants to a near by town. On the way there we were attacked by some missing-nin. They were after a special plant the merchants were carrying with them. They conveniently forgot to tell us about it. The plant was what the demon was sealed in. During the course of the fight it got damaged and the seal weakened. One of the nins knocked me close to the plant and that's when it contacted me. He told me that he could help protect my team. I agreed. I wasn't ready to die. So Houkou, that's his name, broke free of his prison and entered my body. I don't know what happened, but when I woke up I was at the hospital. Hokage-sama told met that everyone was okay, but I was in trouble. I needed to get Houkou properly sealed or he might go mad. Since there was no one in Konoha that could do it, I was sent to Hidden Rock which is where Houkou originated from."

"Where's your seal?"

"On my neck, it only appears when I mold chakra. Kind of like your seal."

"Is that why you wear your scarf?"

"Well not really. Someone special gave it to me as a gift." Jio said with a smile. "Okay, then that's enough questions for now, let's get started. Sensei?"

Jiraiya smirked and bit his thumb. He made a few hand seals and placed his hand on the ground.

"Summoning No Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke covered the area where Jiraiya stood. As it disappeared, Naruto saw a pretty big toad with a scroll in it's mouth. The toad tossed it to Naruto.

"Heh? What's this?"

"This is the contract so you can summon toads." Jiraiya answered. "It's been used for many generations. Just open it up and sign your name in blood."

Naruto placed the scroll on the ground and rolled it open. He quickly scanned the names and found Jio's name at the end. He smiled upon seeing it. Then he bit his thumb and wrote his name. Finally he put his hand print below his name and closed it up. The toad took it back and disappeared.

"Good." Said Jiraiya. He proceeded to tell Naruto the hand seals so he could summon the toads. Naruto eagerly began the summoning.

"Summoning No Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke and it revealed... a tadpole. Both Jio and Jiraiya sweat dropped as Naruto looked at them in disbelief.

"This could take some work..." Jio stated.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A week later, Naruto was still not making much progress. So far he could still only summon tadpoles. Jiraiya was steadily loosing his cool, patience was not his virtue. Jio wondered why he even bothered to teach if he didn't have the patience for it. So while Naruto continued to try to summon, Jio cooked up a plan with Jiraiya. Since it seemed that the only way that Naruto accessed Kyubi's chakra was when he was in danger or in a very emotional state, they decided to put his life in danger. As irresponsible as that sounded, it could do the trick. They would allow Naruto to use up his chakra and when he did, they'd throw him off a cliff. It was the only thing they could think of. Jio wanted more time to train Naruto in controlling the demons chakra and if they let him continue as he was, the month would be over and no progress would have been made. Jio sighed as he watched his brother. As proud as he was of him, he wondered why Naruto wasn't at a higher level. This question had been bugging him for the last week.

"Oi Naruto!"

"Yeah Nii-san?" Naruto said as he continued to try to summon.

"Has that Sensei of yours taught you anything? I would have thought that with a Sensei like Kakashi, you would have been stronger."

Naruto stopped and thought about what Kakashi had taught him. The question also caught Jiraiya's interested and he stopped writing. Naruto scratched his head as he searched for an answer. Well he did teach them that tree climbing technique and... wait that was it. He'd basically just let Naruto wing everything else. He knew he gave Sasuke extra training, heck, he was training him right now! Even Sakura got taught something extra. What exactly it was he didn't know. When he asked Sakura told him it was none of his business. This caused him to frown. Why hadn't Kakashi taught him anything else? Did he not like him? Or did he think he wasn't worth his effort?

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Jio asked worried. He sensed Naruto's change in mood and felt bad if his question had made him upset.

"Kakashi-sensei hasn't taught me anything really." he finally said.

Jiraiya frowned. He had expected better from Kakashi. "What did he teach you?" he asked.

"He taught us the tree climbing technique when we were in the Land of Waves. Other than that, he hasn't trained me. Though he trains Sasuke and Sakura-chan." he finished. He continued to try summoning to get his mind out of the gutter.

Jiraiya's frown deepened. 'So he spends his time training the so called Uchiha Prodigy and the girl. How disappointing. Does he not see the potential Naruto possesses?'

Jio was thinking around those same lines. Though his thought's also involved causing Kakashi some physical pain, however he let those thoughts go. He should probably thank Kakashi. If he had not left Naruto to fend for himself, he would not have run into him so soon and would not have been able to train him.

'Thank you Kakashi for leaving Naruto to us. Now watch as we turn him into a Shinobi of great power. Then you'll regret ever overlooking him.' he though with a smirk.

The sun began to set and Naruto's chakra finally became low enough for them to set their plan into motion. Naruto laid on his back exhausted. After another long day, he was still unable to summon anything but tadpoles. Jio brought Jiraiya's attention away from his writing. He pointed to Naruto's form. Jiraiya stood up and walked over to the blonde.

"Tired?"

Naruto was about to make a smart remark, but he didn't have the energy so he just nodded. Jiraiya smiled and chucked Naruto over his shoulder.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Jiraiya began to walk away with Jio behind him.

"Naruto." Jio said seriously. "Your progress has been slow and at this rate, I'm afraid that we won't have enough time to teach you anything. So we're going to speed up the process."

Naruto had no time to ask more, for he suddenly felt his body thrown into the air. Jiraiya looked down as he fell.

"If you don't want to die, figure it out yourself."

Naruto looked shocked at what they did, however, he didn't have time to dwell on it. If he wanted to live, then he needed to act. Fast. He saw a chance to grab onto one of the protruding rock formations on the canyon wall. This was his chance to save himself! He quickly concentrated his chakra to his feet and hands. Once he was close enough he grabbed on. However, he found himself unable to hold on.

'Sorry Naruto.' Jio though. 'But because of the waterfalls, the rocks there are too slippery for you to grab on to. Plus at the speed your not going to grab anything with such little chakra. You have to use the Kyubi's chakra if you want to live. I know you can do it.'

Naruto yelled as he slipped away from the rock. He looked down at the fast approaching ground. At this rate he was really going to die! For some reason, that word triggered something within his mind. Before he knew it, he was no longer falling. Instead he seemed to be a some sort of flooded hallway. He stood up and looked around. He could feel that chakra. He leaned on the wall for support as he walked forward.

"OOOAARRRR!"

Naruto trembled at the horrible sound, but none the less he continue walking. Soon he came upon a large gate with a small paper marked 'seal'. Naruto became more shocked as he made out a large silhouette.

'It's huge! What is it?'

"Well, well, look who decided to visit. Come closer kit."

Naruto shakily inched nearer. "For you to come, you must want something. What is it?"

Naruto gulped before straighting up. He looked at the figure for a second. 'So this is the Nine-Tails that was sealed in me.'

He smirked. "Yo baka-fox, instead of rent, let me use your chakra!"

The Kyubi said nothing at first, however, he soon broke out in laughter.

"If you die, I die. To threaten me like this, you have to have guts. Alright kit, I'll help you out from now on."

Naruto looked down and saw red chakra coming at him. It lifted up and swirled around him. Soon it was wrapped around his body. He panicked as it overtook his head. The next thing he knew, he was once again falling. This time, however, he felt the Kyubi's chakra coursing through his body. He bit his thumb and made the hand seals.

"Summoning No Jutsu!"

A large cloud of smoke arose. Jiraiya looked proudly at the blonde shinobi as did Jio.

"Good job." Jiraiya said.

Naruto watched in awe as a very large toad appeared beneath him. He landed with a thud on the toads head. He crawled towards it's back to make sure it didn't have a tail. To his delight, it didn't.

"YAY! I did it! Summoning No Jutsu is a complete success!" he said before falling on his back.

Jiraiya looked down in though. 'He was able to pull out the Kyubi's chakra, but it doesn't seem stable. He used too much and summoned 'him'. I can't even control that one. Gamabunta...'

Naruto let out another happy cheer. Gamabunta looked at Naruto with annoyance.

"Yo little punk! What'cha do'in on my head!"

Naruto looked at the toad confused. Said toad looked around. "I finally get some fresh air and... what the hell is this?" he looked at Naruto. "Where's Jiraiya, punk!"

"Huh? What?" 'This thing is scary.' Naruto thought.

"That perverted geezer calling me to such a place! Even putting some little punk on my head."

"No, well, umm, I summoned you. I though you could help." Naruto piped up.

"You?" Gamabunta asked with skepticism.

"Yes!"

He let out a hardy laugh at Naruto's response. "You shouldn't lie punk. No way in hell a little shrimp like you could summon me!"

As Gamabunta continued to laugh, Naruto looked at him with anger. "You piece of shit toad! How dare you say such things!" Gamabunta looked startled at Naruto's outburst. "I'm the one who summoned you so I'm your master! Got that!"

Soon Naruto regretted saying those words. Gamabunta looked pissed. "What the... Hey who do you think your talking too! Some little kid saying he's the master of the Boss Toad Gamabunta-sama? You want your head ripped off!"

Naruto hung on as Gamabunta's head bobbed. "I'm sorry Boss Toad!" 'I wish Jio and Jiraiya would have told me about this!'

Gamabunta smiled. "Well calm down. I'll make you my underling. You should be thankful."

"Y-yes Boss Toad!"

Jiraiya and Jio laughed at how it switched around so easily. "We better disappear, otherwise it will be a hassle if Gamabunta sees us." Jiraiya told Jio.

"I know. Then I'll go gather Naruto's stuff from his apartment and move it to your house. I'll see you then."

Jiraiya nodded. As Jio left, he summoned the toad with the scroll again. He placed the scroll on the ground and opened up to the part with Naruto's name. He then went to find a place to hide. He needed to keep an eye on Naruto until he was home. With all that chakra he used, he wouldn't be surprised if he needed a trip to the hospital. If he did go, he would need to be there to make sure he was even treated. These people could be very cruel to the boy. Down in the ravine, Gamabunta held on to Naruto with his tongue as he jumped up. Naruto screamed all the way up. When he landed, the Boss Toad spotted the contract. He looked at the boy, who was now passed out.

'So the kid wasn't lying.' he looked at the scroll again. 'Another Uzumaki? Heh, Jiraiya, you sure know how to pick em. Still, he's an impressive kid.'

Gamabunta placed the sleeping Naruto on his head and bounced off towards the hospital. Jiraiya smiled and rolled up the scroll. He followed he giant toad back to Konoha.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Jio was making his way to Naruto's apartment with the purpose of gathering his stuff. He was not going to let his brother live in that excuse for a home. He made his way up a familiar set of stairs and past a familiar set of doors. He stopped at a door with scribbles. Upon further examination, he made out the words monster and various other insults. His eyes narrowed. These people were cruel. What kind of adults were they?

"I'd stay away from that room." a voice said from his left.

Jio switched his gaze to a man standing at the top of the stairs. The apartment manager. There was another excuse for an adult.

"That 'thing' lives there. I don't know why the Hokage made me give it a room. If you ask me, it should have died at birth."

Jio released an immense amount of killer intent upon the man. He walked up to him and gave him the same cold and hateful glare they gave Naruto.

"Shut up. It's not his fault he got saddled with that responsibility. You should be thanking him because he is the only thing standing between you and death."

The man was too paralyzed with fear to even respond.

"Now get out of my sight." Jio snarled.

He then turned and walked back to Naruto's room. He pulled out a key and walked in. The apartment manager quickly ran down the stairs after Jio was inside. He needed to change into a fresh pair of pants and underwear.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura and Ino were walking to Naruto's apartment. They were hoping he knew where Sasuke had disappeared to. They had gone to visit him at the hospital only to find he had escaped. They couldn't find Kakashi either, so they went and asked Iruka for Naruto's address. The girls arrived at the apartment complex. They looked at the old run down building.

'This is where he lives?' they thought surprised.

They looked at each other and shrugged. Well he was an orphan so maybe this was all he could afford. They made their way up the stairs and to Naruto's apartment. There was a light coming from a window. At least they wouldn't need to search all over the village for him. Sakura was about to knock when she saw the scribbles on the door. She and Ino read them.

'Monster'

'Get out'

'Die'

Who would do such a thing and why hadn't Naruto said anything? With a frown, Sakura knocked. A few seconds later the door opened. They were surprised to find Jio. He too seemed surprised to see them.

"Sakura-san? What brings you here?"

"Uh, I actually came to see Naruto. Is he here?"

Jio shook his head.

"Darn it." Ino said. "Can you tell us where he is?"

"I would, but I'm not too sure where he might be."

After he said that, a small toad jumped between him and the girls.

"Yo Jio!" the toad said as he jumped on Jio's shoulder.

"Gamakichi, what's up?"

"Jiraiya sent me to tell you that Naruto is in the hospital."

"Is he alright?" Sakura asked worried.

The toad waved it off. "Don't worry, he just used up too much chakra and needs to rest." he turned back to Jio. "Jiraiya said he'll keep an eye on him till morning. He wants you to take over after that."

"Okay, thank you Gamakichi."

The toad nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jio turned to the girls. "Well now you know where he is. If you want we can go in the morning."

"Thank you." Sakura said.

"Well I better get back to work then." Jio was about to close the door when the girls stopped him.

"Um, maybe we can help. You know, to pay you back for helping us." Ino stated.

"Alright, if it's no trouble." Jio opened the door and let them in.

The girls took off their sandals and looked around the apartment. It was small. The kitchen and living room where one. A small hallway lead to two other rooms. They assumed one was Naruto's room and the other the bathroom.

"Sakura-san you can throw all his ramen in this box." he handed it to her. Then he turned to Ino. "And you miss..."

"Oh, sorry. My name is Yamanaka Ino, but you can just call me Ino."

Jio nodded. "Well then Ino-san, you can help Sakura-san with the ramen. He seems to have a lot around. I'll take care of his things in his room."

The girls nodded and got to work. They weren't surprised to find so much instant ramen in Naruto's apartment. He loved the stuff after all. Jio threw all of Naruto's clothes into a box along with some weapons and scrolls he had lying around. Finally he put the picture of him and his team in too. He was about to leave when he got the feeling he was still missing something. So he looked through a few drawers to make sure he didn't miss anything. He soon found that he indeed missed something. In the drawer of his desk, he found a picture of them. He smiled sadly. Why would he hide it? Was it too painful to look at? He shook his head and decided to think about it later. He placed the picture in the box and closed it up. He picked up the box and rested it on his shoulder. In the living room, the girls finished searching for the ramen. He thanked them for their help and tossed the box on top of the one he was carrying.

"I'll walk you girls home. It is late after all."

"You don't have to." Sakura said.

"We can take care of ourselves." Ino assured him.

Jio shook his head. "Though I have no doubt you can, I would feel more relaxed if I saw you two home."

The girls gave in and left the apartment. Jio left the key outside the door and left. As they walked, Sakura wondered if Jio knew about the writing on Naruto's apartment door. Sure he was annoying and pulled pranks, but it didn't warrant that kind of animosity.

"Jio-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know why those things were written on Naruto's door?"

Jio stopped walking. He couldn't tell them the real reason. He needed to come up with something though.

"I'm afraid I'm not liable to say."

"Huh, why not?" Ino asked.

Jio ran his hand through his hair. "Looks girls, Naruto is the only one who can tell you, however I'm going to ask that you wait until he's ready to talk about it."

"Is is that big of a deal?" Sakura asked.

"It is. I also would like to ask that you not judge Naruto harshly when he does decide to tell you. He did not have a say in what fate was handed to him."

Jio said no more and continued to walk. The girls looked at each other with worry. What could have happened to Naruto that was so bad? They questioned no more and walked silently behind Jio. Ino was dropped off first. Jio told her to meet him at the hospital at nine. She thanked him and went inside. As she went to her room, she contemplated how different he was from Naruto. He was more polite than the blonde for sure, but Naruto also had his good qualities. He cheered on all his comrades during the preliminaries of the exam. Of course he didn't cheer her on since she was fighting Sakura, but still, he was a nice guy. It seemed like being nice ran in the family. She wondered if some of Jio's politeness could rub off on Naruto. Sakura was dropped off next. He bid her good night before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura stood outside for a few moments staring at the spot Jio had been in. What he had told her bothered her greatly. What had happened to Naruto that he couldn't talk about? She shook the thoughts from her head and walked inside. She needed a good nights rest.

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As promised, Jio met the girls in front of the hospital. They walked inside and asked for Naruto's room number. They took the elevator up to the third floor. They were surprised to find that Shikamaru was in the room. A fruit basket sat on the bed. Jiraiya was no where to be found. Jio shrugged it off and walked in with the girls. Sakura and Ino both commented on how they like Naruto's new clothes. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Ino shifted her attention to Shikamaru and asked him what he was doing there while Sakura questioned Naruto on Sasuke's where abouts. She was disappointed to find out he didn't know where they had gone. He just knew Kakashi was training him. Jio was about to say something when his head exploded in pain.

'Pup! Let me get a hold of that fox bastard!'

'What! I though he was your friend!'

Naruto noticed his brother holding his head in pain. Suddenly, his head too began to throb.

'Kit, allow me to destroy that wolf bastard!'

'Are you crazy!' Naruto screamed at Kyubi.

'I want him dead!'the two demons screamed at their vessels.

'What the hell?' was all they could think.

"Hey are you two alright?" Ino asked noticing their painful expressions.

"Well, be fine." Jio responded. "Can you guys give us some privacy?"

The genins nodded and decided to wait outside. Once he heard the door click, Jio made some hand seals and sound proofed the room. This was one conversation not meant for anyone else.

"Naruto, Houkou wants to kill Kyubi." Jio said ask calmly as he could.

"Same here. The baka-fox is screaming bloody murder."

Jio talked with Houkou, trying to figure out why he hated the fox demon.

"Houkou says that Kyubi killed one of his pups."

Naruto waited for a moment. "Kyubi said he's a lying bastard and that Houkou's the murderer. He killed one of his kits."

Jio rubbed his head as Houkou's outraged cries rung through his head. "He says where the hell did Kyubi come up with that. He never killed his kits."

"Kyubi said that he shouldn't lie. Nekomata informed him that she had seen with her own eyes, Houkou slaughter his kit."

"He says bullshit, Nekomata informed him that she had seen Kyubi kill his pup."

Both Naruto and Jio looked at each other. Sounded to them like the two demons had been tricked. Meanwhile, the two demons stopped yelling at their vessels and though about this new revelation. If what each of them said was true, then the one who killed their children was Nekomata. Their outraged cries ran through their vessels minds again.

"Damn it now he wants Nekomata's head." Jio said.

"God, will he stop yelling! Kyubi's louder than me!" Naruto said as he clutched his head.

After a few more moments, they stopped. Jio breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried his head might explode. Houkou took this time to explain to Jio that he and Kyubi had once been allies, but once Nekomata told him his pup had been killed by Kyubi, their friendship ended and they became bitter enemies. He and Nekomata had tried to defeat Kyubi once, but was too powerful and they had been forced to retreat. They barely escaped with their lives. He returned to his lands and in his weakened state, he was sealed by humans.

"Oi Jio, Kyubi wants a truce."

"Truce?"

Naruto nodded. Jio waited for Houkou to respond. "He said fine. At least they won't be trying to get us to kill each other."

"Yeah, that would be bad."

Jio undid the jutsu and allowed the genins back in. They questioned them about their conversation, but they told them that was personal. Ino offered to take the fruit basket to Choji, to which Shikamaru agreed. Soon after she left, Sakura also decided to leave. Shikamaru hung around with Jio and got to know him a little better. He was surprised to find that Jio was already a Jonin at his age. Still not as young as the infamous Uchiha Itachi or Kakashi, but still, it was impressive. Naruto then asked Shikamaru about Choji. He told them that Choji had gotten his stomach injured from eating so much after his match. Naruto laughed at how that was so much like Choji. It was then Naruto suggested they visit Rock Lee. They agreed and left. Upon arriving, they were shocked to find someone there. Shikamaru quickly did his Shadow Copy No Jutsu to incapacitate the intruder while Naruto attacked.

"What are you doing here you bastard!"

Jio's eyes widened as he recognized the red head shinobi.

'No way... it's Sabaku no Gaara!'

"What were you trying to do to Fuzzy Brows!"

"I was trying to kill him." he answered as he straightened up.

"What!" Naruto exclaimed.

Shikamaru looked shocked. 'How can he stay so calm. He shouldn't even be able to move from my Shadow Copy...'

"You won the fight." Shikamaru began. "Do you have some personal grudge against him."

"No I don't. I'm going to kill him because I want to kill him."

Jio's fists clenched. 'Damn, just our luck to run into a shinobi who kills without reservations.'

"What the hell are you talking about!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You must have had a messed up childhood. How self-centered can you be?" Shikamaru stated. 'This guy is giving me the chills. At least Jio is here. I doubt Naruto and I could do something against this guy. Geez, what to do..'

Gaara glared. "If you get in my way, I'll kill you too."

"Go ahead and try!" Naruto screamed with out thinking.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru said worried. He didn't want to die.

"Enough." Jio said. He stepped in front of the two genins. "Don't mess with guy. He would carry out his threat. After all, he's been killing since he was six. This guys a monster."

"So what?" Naruto said. "I have a real monster inside me. I won't be defeated by him!"

"Stop provoking him!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"A monster?" Gaara questioned. "Then it's the same for me. As you said, I had a messed up childhood. I was born into this world by taking the life of the woman I would have called my mother. To become the ultimate shinobi, my father attached the incarnation of sand upon me through Ninjutsu. I was born a monster."

'I can feel it.'Houkou told Jio.

'The One Tail.' Kyubi said.

"Shukaku!" Jio exclaimed.

Gaara just stared at him emotionless. Naruto looked at Gaara with shock. He was just like him and Jio.

"A possession jutsu at birth... to go that far is crazy." Shikamaru summed up. "What a strange expression of love."

"Love?" Gaara said. "Don't make me laugh. To me, family is nothing but pieces of meat, connected to me with murderous intent and hatred. Since the age of six, my father has tried to assassinate me countless times!"

"But why?" Shikamaru asked.

"Born through jutsu, my spirit was unstable. The village idiots seemed to finally understand there was a problem. To my father, the Kazekage, I was the village's trump card, but at the same time I was also very dangerous. So by the age of six, I was deemed too dangerous. But then why do I exist? I could not find an answer when I though about it. But as you live you need a reason otherwise it's the same as being dead."

'I-I can understand.' Naruto though. 'He's the same as me.'

Jio closed his eyes for a moment. 'Jinchuriki are those who were sealed with a demon at birth. Unlike them, I have not faced nearly all the hardship they have. They are ostracized and mistreated to the point where they no longer find a reason to live. A Jinchuriki is considered lucky if they can make it to their teenage years. Naruto was lucky to have someone there to show him not all life was bad, but for Gaara, he was shown that all he was good for was killing. What a horrible way to live.'

"Then I came to a conclusion." Gaara said snapping Jio out of his thoughts. "I exist to kill every human besides myself. I finally found relief within dead. By continually killing the assassins, I understood the reason to continue living. Fighting for only yourself, living while loving only yourself. If you think that everyone else simply exist to experience that feeling, nothing is better than that world. As long as there are people in the world for me to kill and continue to feel that joy of living... my existence will not vanish!"

'What is this guy?' Shikamaru though, now more nervous.

Naruto looked at Gaara. 'I was not always alone and because of that I was able to find a reason to live. Jio, Ojii-chan, and Iruka-sensei ...they let me experience what it was to be alive because they acknowledged me. But he continued to be alone and experienced what it means to live by killing others.' he felt himself begin to shake more. 'I can't believe someone like this exists. There's no way I could beat a guy like this!'

Shikamaru noticed Naruto began to shakily move back. "What's wrong Naruto?"

'Shit!' though Jio as he saw the sand began to move. "Naruto. Shikamaru." he said in a calming tone. "Don't worry, I'm here. I won't let him harm you." he looked back with a smile.

"Now let me feel it!"

The sand flew at them. Shikamaru and Naruto watched helplessly as the sand came closer. Jio whipped out his boomerang deflected the sand. Gaara had the look of a mad man.

"You are not the only monster here." Jio said before getting in a battle stance.

"That's enough!"

The nins attention was shifted to a man with a bowl cut. Jio's eyebrow twitched. There was a man like him around? And here he though it was all in his imagination (if you don't know what I'm talking about, please re-read the beginning of chapter 3. It will make sense then).

"The finals aren't for another three weeks, don't go getting antsy. Or do you want to stay here starting today?"

Gaara clutched his head in pain. He walked towards the door, the sand moved back into the giant gourd. Gaara looked back at the Konoha shinobi.

"I'll definitely kill you guys... just wait." with that he left.

The three shinobi visibly relaxed. That had been one of the most nerve racking encounters the two genin had ever had. Jio placed his boomerang back into it's holder on his back. He turned towards Shikamaru and Naruto.

"Are you two going to be okay?"

Shikamaru waved him off and Naruto nodded stiffly. Jio sighed. At least no one was hurt. He waited while Shikamaru and Naruto talked with Gai about what happened. Gai decided he needed to keep an eye on Lee for the time being, just in case Gaara decided to come back. They said good-bye and left. Shikamaru waited with them until Naruto was checked out later that day. Jio could tell they were still a little shaken up from the encounter so he took them out to eat. After they ate, Shikamaru bid them farewell.

"We should hang out more often." Naruto told him.

"I wouldn't mind." Shikamaru responded as he left.

The Uzumaki's watched him walk off with a smile on their faces. Naruto was happy he got to make a new friend. Although he had known Shikamaru since the academy, this was the first time they'd hung out and got to know each other. Jio looked at Naruto from the corner of his eyes. Is this what the Hokage wanted him to witness? Others acknowledging his brother? If that was the case, then he needed to rethink his views on everyone in the village.

'I suppose I can't lump them all in one group.' he thought.

Naruto and he began their walk to Jiraiya's house. Jio informed Naruto that he now officially lived there.

"Why?"

"Sensei and I want you to live with us because you are part of the family after all."

"Family?"

Jio nodded. "Sensei is like a father to me and despite his perverted ways, he's not a bad person. You don't have to view him the same way I do, but I do want you to view us as family. A strange family, but a family none the less."

Naruto stopped walking. Jio looked back at him. Naruto had his head down and fists clenched.

"Hey are you okay?"

The sound of sobbing reached his ears. Jio walked closer to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto never allowed sorrow or pain to show when he was in public. He had trained himself to smile no matter how bad things got, however, right now he could not hide his emotions. He though he would never have a family again, but now Jio just gave him what he always wanted.

"C-can we really be a family?" he sobbed.

"Yeah... we can." Jio said softly.

Naruto looked up at Jio and smiled. A smile that said he was ready to be happy again. That he was finally being rewarded for being able to live through all his miseries and misfortunes. They began to walk again and soon came a house. Outside, Jiraiya sat on the porch with some scrolls scattered around him. He stopped writing and looked up at the two boys. He waved at them.

"Welcome home you two."

"Nice to see you Sensei." Jio said as he walked towards the Toad Sennin.

He talked with him for a few seconds before they both turned to Naruto.

"Come on kid, we still need to put all your stuff in your room." Jiraiya said.

"You mean you didn't do it?" Jio asked. "What have you been doing all day then?"

"Research and writing." he answered.

Jio sighed in frustration. "Did you at least buy him some new furniture?"

"Of course!"

"I'm shocked."

The two began arguing about what it meant to be a responsible adult. Through it all Naruto smiled. He watched from a distance until they stopped.

"What's the hold up Naruto?" Jiraiya asked. "Come on lets do this already."

Naruto nodded and ran inside with Jio and Jiraiya.

'I'm home.' he though happily.

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AN: And that is the end of this chapter. Next up, the finals are finally about to begin! Until then leave a comment if you can. Just don't flame me.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Well I don't have much to say except thanks to the following for reviewing: **Naruto Chaos**, **WattanaC**, **Victor**, **Conlan0414863**, and **unlucky desert rider**. You guys make writing worth it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan. I'm just obsessed with them.

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Naruto cracked open one eye but quickly shut it as some sun light seeped into the room. The blonde ninja grabbed the pillow and put it over his head. He just wanted to get some more sleep. His plans were ruined when a horrible beeping sound rang through the room. Naruto jumped out of bed and quickly turned off the alarm. He had been tempted to smash the clock, but Jiraiya had yelled at him for destroying the last one. He sat on his bed and stretched his muscles. He sneaked a peek at the calendar hanging over his desk. His eyes widened. Today was the finals! The blonde jumped off his bed and over to his closet. He grabbed his clothes and jumped into the shower.

Jio was still sound asleep in his room and nothing was going to get him up. Nothing except Naruto. Unfortunately, the years he had been away from his brother had made him vulnerable to the blondes requests. He just couldn't say no to him! Take for example the diet he was suppose to be keeping Naruto on. That went out the window whenever Naruto looked at him with his eyes pleadingly. Everyday after training they went to Ichiraku's and Naruto ate his fill. That left his wallet feeling very light and him feeling very guilty.

At that moment, Naruto burst through Jio's door and hopped onto his brothers bed. He grabbed Jio by his shoulders and shook him roughly.

"Wake up Jio! We gotta get to the stadium!"

Jio mumbled something incoherent. "Jio! It's the day of the finals!"

That snapped Jio awake. Naruto stopped shaking him and allowed Jio to run to his closet to get his clothes. Jio took a quick shower and then they both headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Jio went to find Jiraiya after they ate, but only found a note in his room. Jio pocketed the note and told Naruto that Jiraiya had left to meet a friend. Naruto was disappointed that Jiraiya would not see his match, but brightened up after Jio told him that he wished him luck. As they left the house, Naruto asked Jio if they could make a quick pit stop. Jio agreed and followed Naruto to the training grounds. They were surprised to find someone already there. A girl was standing at one of the logs. Naruto was more surprised as to who it was.

"Hinata... Your alright now?"

The girl quickly got behind the log and looked at the Uzumakis,

"Na-Na-Naruto-kun. J-Jio-san. Why... are you here? Isn't today the finals?"

The added suffix to Naruto's name didn't go unnoticed by Jio. It was painfully obvious to him that Hinata had a crush on Naruto. He looked over at his brother and was disappointed to find that Naruto didn't seem to have a clue.

_'I guess he's too hung up on Sakura-san to notice when another girl likes him. Makes me wonder if he's been given 'The Talk'.'_ Jio shook his head and let Naruto handle it.

"Well, I just came to check out this practice field since it's the place I became Genin."

"O..oh...why?"

"Nothing! Who care?" he snapped without meaning too.

Jio noticed Hinata recoil and smacked Naruto upside the head.

"Don't mind him Hinata-san. He's just nervous about his first match." Jio explained. He hoped that would cheer her up. It seemed to work since she nodded in understanding.

Naruto sighed, "Hinata...Neji's a relative of yours right?"

Hinata nodded.

"He's strong, right?"

"Y-Yeah." she took a step from behind the log and moved a little bit forward, however she still leaned on the log. "B-but you might be able to beat him Naruto-kun because..."

"Hahaha! Yeah! I'm really strong!" he exclaimed cutting her off.

Naruto's laugh died down and they were enveloped in silence. Jio hadn't been aware of how nervous Naruto really was. Even with all the training he was given, he was still doubting his skills or maybe it wasn't the match that was worrying him.

"No matter how strong an opponent, every one has a weakness." Jio said breaking the awkward silence. The two Genins looked at him. "We have gone over this before Naruto. Neji may be considered a genius, but even a supposed genius doesn't know everything. Just believe in yourself and you will be fine. After all I'm sure Hinata-san believes in you. Right?" he asked the Hyuga heiress.

"R-right." she answered quietly. "Oh, umm, when you cheered for me..." she said to the blonde. "I felt like I had become stronger. After the prelims ended I started liking myself a little more. To other people it may not seem like I changed, but I... felt like I was able to change." She offered Naruto a small smile. "It was thanks to you Naruto-kun..."

Naruto grinned at her. "Aaaahh! Thanks to me, eh? Yeah I'm very influential!"

Jio rolled his eyes. Did Naruto not know the meaning of the word humble?

"Hey, Hinata..." Naruto began. "Do you really think I'm strong?"

"Huh?" Hinata asked confused.

"I may appear strong to you, but that's because I act all tough. I do it because I'm frustrated from always failing..."

"That's not true even if you fail... in my eyes you're a proud failure."

Naruto looked surprised at her response.

"Because you fail, you have to strength to get back up... because I believe that's what true strength is. I-I think that you are an incredibly strong person, Naruto-kun."

Jio smiled at Hinata and patted Naruto's back. "See if a cute girl like Hinata-sama thinks your strong then stop questioning it."

Hinata began to turn tomato red at Jio's statement. "C-c-c-ute?" she squeaked.

Naruto could only look at Jio confused. Jio was tempted to smack Naruto for being so thick headed, but he resisted. Instead he smacked his own forehead.

"Sorry he's so clueless Hinata-sama. Perhaps he won't be so naive in a couple more years." he gave the shy girl an encouraging smile. "Don't give up on him."

Naruto frowned at Jio. "Hey what's that suppose to mean!"

"Nothing, nothing." Jio said while shaking his head. "Well we better go. Otherwise you'll be late for your match."

"Right!" Naruto turned to Hinata. "Thanks a lot Hinata. I feel better now. You know I thought you were a plain looking, dark weirdo..."

_'What a way to compliment a girl bro. Sakura-san the only girl you see?'_

"But... a person like you, I really like!"

_'Well at least that makes up for what he said before.'_ Jio though with a smile.

Jio looked at the Hyuga heiress. Her whole face seemed to be burning. He wondered if it was healthy to blush that much.

"Well I better go. You better come watch me kick that Neji guy's ass! Later!"

Naruto and Jio waved good-bye and then made their way to the stadium. Hinata leaned on the log for better support. She could not believe that Naruto said he liked her! Okay maybe he said he likes people like her, but she liked to think it was her specifically. That made the statement much better. Kiba showed up a few moments later wondering why in the world Hinata looked so red.

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Naruto and Jio stood in front of the entrance of the stadium for the competitors. They looked at each other with serious expressions.

"This is it." Jio told his brother. "The fruits of your training will become apparent here."

Naruto nodded.

"Remember, win or lose, I'll always be proud of you."

Naruto beamed at him. Jio then unstrapped the leather holder that held his boomerang and handed it to Naruto. The blonde ninja looked surprised.

"You've learned to used this weapon pretty decently. I think it's safe to say that you're ready to use it in real combat."

"Yeah, but what if it gets broken?"

Jio waved it off. "If it gets broken it can be repaired. Besides I told you not to let it's looks fool you. It's more than just a wooden boomerang. You've witnessed that for yourself."

"Well if you say it's okay..." Naruto took the boomerangs holder and strapped it to his back.

Naruto held his fist up to his brother. Jio grinned and bumped his first with Naruto's. Then they turned walked towards their respective destinations. Naruto walked through the entrance and followed the hallway until he met up with Shikamaru and Shino. They were told to wait for the other finalists. Soon the the three Sand nin joined them in their wait. Shikamaru and Naruto cautiously watched Gaara from their spots. They had not forgotten his threat. A Jonin with a bandana hitai-ate and a senbon in his mouth appeared after a couple minutes. He instructed them to follow him out to the arena. Naruto frowned since Sasuke nor the Sound guy had shown up, however he made no remarks and followed. He did however continue to search for his friend until the examiner told him to stop.

"Face the costumers. In this main tournament, you guys are the stars."

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Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino watched as the contestants slowly began to walk onto the field.

"Sasuke-kun isn't here yet..." Ino stated.

Sakura could only watch silently. _'That time... did he really leave the hospital? Or did something happen to him?'_

Ino caught something in the corner of her eye. It was a floating red scarf. She turned to see Jio walking down the stairs looking for a seat.

"Hey Jio!"

Jio stopped walking and turned towards the person who called him.

"Oh, Ino-san. Sakura-san." he walked back up towards them. "It's nice to see you again. It's been awhile hasn't it?"

Sakura pushed away her worry for a moment and gave Jio a small smile.

"Yes, we haven't seen you around lately."

Jio chuckled. "Yes, well, I used all the time I could training Naruto."

"You were training him!" both the girls exclaimed.

"Yes I was. I guess I forgot to mention it." he said as he glanced over at the Hokage's balcony. The Kazekage was just arriving.

"Yeah you did." Ino said. "but if you've been training him then that means he might have a chance to beat Neji!"

"What did you teach him?" Sakura asked.

Jio grinned. "Sorry, but you're just going to have to watch and see."

They turned back to the contestants and scanned for Naruto. Once they spotted him, they realized he had a new weapon.

"Hey isn't that your boomerang?" Sakura questioned the older Uzumaki.

Jio nodded. "It is, but I'm letting Naruto borrow it for the finals. It looks like it's going to start."

The girls and Jio turned their attention towards the Hokage who stood up from his seat.

"Thanks everyone for coming to the Hidden Leaf Chunin Selection Exam! We will now start the main tournament matches between the eight participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end."

"If it's eight.." the Kazekage began. "One seems to be missing."

The Hokage only looked at him, but said nothing. Down in the arena the Jonin pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to the finalists. The Sound nin's name had been removed.

"As you can see, there have been some minor changes to the tournament. Check once again to see who you're fighting.

_'I had an extra first round match...Did that Dosu guy forfeit?'_ Shikamaru though a bit bothered by the turn of events.

"Hey! Hey!" Naruto said as he raised his hand.

"What?"

"Sasuke isn't here yet. What are you gonna do?"

"If he doesn't appear by the time of his match, he will receive a default loss."

Naruto could do no more more except worry.

"Alright, guys." The examiner began. "This is the final test. The arena is different but the rules are the same as in the prelims. There are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it. You got that?"

Some of the contestants nodded.

"Now the first fight, Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuga Neji. Those two stay here while the rest of you go to the waiting room."

Shikamaru gave Naruto a pat on the back before heading to the waiting room. Shino simply nodded and followed Shikamaru. Somewhere else in the stadium, Kiba and Hinata had just arrived. Kiba got them two seats and sat down for the match. Kiba smirked.

"This should be good."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata said worried.

"But for that kid to get this far..." A chunin next to Hinata said.

"Yeah," a another continued. "For guys that got this far on luck, this is the end of the line."

"Naruto's opponent is just too tough." the first said again.

"He can't beat the Hyuga Clan." The second concluded.

Hinata's eyes brows furrowed. They shouldn't count Naruto out so quickly.

_'It's like Jio-san said,'No matter how strong an opponent, every one has a weakness.' _she though.

Kiba also heard what the Chunins said and simply smirked. _'Well, I though that at first, but you'll pay if you underestimate him.'_

Suddenly, Akamaru whined and licked Kiba's cheek.

"What?"

Akamaru continued to whine and grunt. To anyone else it's just a bunch of noises, but to Kiba, it's as if Akamaru was speaking like a person. After Akamaru finished, Kiba looked around and found what Akamaru was talking about.

_'There!'_ an ANBU was sitting a few seats above them with a cloak. _'Why is an ANBU here? Is something going on?' _Kiba though suspiciously.

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Jio watched from his place as Naruto and Neji stared each other down. He did a quick scan of the area and found that there were a few ANBU stationed in the crowd. Something big must be going down or maybe the Leaf was just being cautious with Orochimaru roaming around. Yup, Jio was well aware that the Snake Sannin was paying his home a visit. Jiraiya had been made aware first and passed the knowledge on to him. He didn't know why he was there, but he made it a point to find out later.

"Well since Jio was training him then at least we know Naruto can stand a chance." Ino said.

Sakura nodded in agreement. Down in the field, Naruto continued to glare at the Hyuga genius. Neji smirked at the blonde.

"Looks like you brought a weapon this time." he said, but Naruto made no move to respond. "If you have something to say then say it."

Naruto held out his fist. "You're definitley going down."

Neji activated his Byakugan in order to find a weakness. He wasn't very surprised to find that Naruto seemed to have no doubts in his ability to win. Unlike his cousin, Naruto had a strong will. Neji smirked.

"It will be fun to watch you fall apart and bring you back to reality."

"Quit your blabbering and lets fight!"

In the stands, Hyuga Hiashi and Hanabi watched.

"There is no other who has received such thick Hyuga blood. Watch closely Hanabi." Hiashi instructed his daughter.

"Yes father."

---------------------

Naruto knew well that close range combat would be no good against Neji. After watching him decimate Hinata and talking with his brother, he came up with this plan of attack. He made a hand sign and four clones appeared. Neji was taken aback. He had no idea Naruto knew such an advance move, however he remained calm. All he had to do was destroy the clones.

"In the end there is only one true body." he informed Naruto.

"Stop acting all tough." Naruto said and ordered his clones to attack.

Two of the clones charged head on with their Kunai's in hand, but Neji simply jumped and grabbed their heads. He pushed them away and used the momentum to summersault. With Neji still in midair, the other two clones attacked from his sides. Neji, however, spun his body and then unleashed a kick at both the clones.

Naruto watched from afar with a calm expression. Jio and Jiraiya had told him that with the Byakugan Neji had almost perfect 360 vision. Almost. Naruto figured if he could find where the blind spot was, he could attack from there, but even if he did find it, Neji would not fall for the same trick twice. He would be even more on guard and make it harder for him to attack.

By now Neji had destroyed two of his clones. The remaining ones were sent flying in his direction. Both of them disappeared at his feet. Neji smirked at the blonde.

"Become Hokage eh? It's impossible if this is all you can do. Talent is decided at your birth. You could say that everything is decided when a person is born."

Normally, Naruto would have blown his top at the arrogance Neji showed, but after spending a month with Jio and Jiraiya, he had learned not only new tricks, but also how to think clearly and calmly.

"If that's the case then I was born to be a the greatest Hokage Konoha has ever seen!"

"Do you honestly believe that? Only a hand full of Shinobi are chosen. Look closer at reality! Those that become Hokage are born into that destiny. You don't become it by trying. It is decided by destiny! The only destiny that every person shares.." Neji's eyes narrowed. "is death."

Hinata looked worried. She had been right. Neji was hurting from what happened in the past.

_'Those eyes.' _Hiashi thought. _'He still has a grudge against the main family.'_

"Your wrong." Naruto answered. "Changing your destiny isn't impossible."

Naruto conjured up an army of clones and attacked. Neji smoothly dodged every kick and punch that was thrown his way. He maneuvered through the mass army with ease.

_'I know where he is!'_

Neji burst through the crowd and attack the Naruto that was doing nothing. He hit his chest. Neji smiled in triumph.

"It was obvious that the one doing nothing was the real one."

Naruto coughed up blood. The spectators though that it was over.

"I told you it was useless." Neji scorned.

"You really need to stop deciding things." Naruto croaked out.

Suddenly, Neji felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. Naruto then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Neji ignored the pain and quickly turned to see Naruto in the air and ready to strike him down. He held up his hand and caught a boomerang. He then raised it over his head as he came down upon Neji.

"There's no escape!" Naruto exclaimed.

'So, that's what he hit me with.' Neji though.

"Yes! Go Naruto!" Kiba screamed.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata said relieved. She really though that Naruto might have been hurt badly.

The Chunins beside were surprised at what the blonde ninja had pulled off. Ino and Sakura were equally amazed at what Naruto had done. In fact they were amazed at how he acted on the battle field. The Naruto they knew would be having a fit and screaming his head off. Had his time with Jio really affected him so much?

Naruto thrust the boomerang down upon Neji, but suddenly he was blown away. He was sent skidding across the ground. He quickly sat up and looked at Neji.

"You though you had won?"

"No way!" Ino exclaimed.

"Naruto's attack should have connected!" Sakura said.

Hinata coughed. _'That was...'_

_'Kaiten...The Heavenly Spin.' _Hiashi thought.

"Father that's your..." Hanabi began.

"Kaiten is the Hyuga main family's technique. It's only passed down to the heirs of the Hyuga house." he confirmed. _'But to master it on his own... what a guy...to be this good.'_

Naruto wiped off some sweat._ 'Damn! Guess I'll have to use some help.'_

Neji closed his eyes. "It's over. You are within the field of my Hakke."

Jio's eyes narrowed. "He's in trouble."

"What!" the girls exclaimed.

"Gentle fist style, 64 hands of Hakke." Neji said as he got into the proper stance.

_'That style...' _Hiashi though. _'It can't be!'_

Naruto could do nothing to avoid the oncoming attack.

"Hakke two hand!"

"Four hands!"

"Eight hands!"

"Sixteen hands!"

"Thirty-two hands!"

"Sixty-four hands!"

With that final move he sent Naruto flying and he dropped the boomerang. Naruto's friends were left flabbergasted. Could this be over for the blonde ninja? Hinata began to cough harshily. Her worry for Naruto was having an adverse affect on her body. After all, she wasn't completely healed yet. Neji looked down at Naruto who sat on his knees hunched over in pain

"I've hit sixty-four points on your body. You can no longer stand."

Naruto grunted at Neji.

"Heh, is it painful? Stay on her knees before a power you cannot change and realize your worthlessness. Having your dreams come true through hard work is an illusion."

Naruto suddenly began to chuckle and slowly began to rise.

"What is he doing!" Ino exclaimed.

"Naruto's had all his chakra points closed! How does he expect to win like that!" Sakura said.

_'If you only knew...' _Jio thought. _'Even with his chakra points closed, he still has a friend who's willing to share some chakra.'_

"What?" Neji said surprised at Naruto's actions.

"You know what Neji? I'm sick of hearing you talk as if you know the answers to everything in life and I'm sick of hearing you talk down to everyone else!"

Naruto picked up the boomerang he had dropped. "What gives you the right to act the way you do? Did destiny decide that you needed to be a bastard!"

Neji glared at Naruto.

"I don't know what problems you have with your family, but the reason I'll beat you is for mentally attacking Hinata when she was trying so hard! People like you don't deserve the respect you're given."

----------------------------

Hinata was touched that Naruto would go so far for her, however she didn't dwell on it for soon she was in a fit of coughs. Kiba looked alarmed at her and panicked when he realized she was coughing up blood.

"Hinata? What's wrong?"

"Is something wrong?"

Kiba turned to see the ANBU from earlier standing behind him.

"Who are you?" Kiba questioned.

"Well...no one suspicious." he answered.

Kiba hesitantly allowed the ANBU to carry Hinata and set her down on the floor. He watched and became alarmed when the ANBU gathered chakra in his hand.

"Hey!"

"Don't worry I'm a doctor. " the ANBU assured him.

Kiba was relieved when Hinata's face became less pale.

"Too bad you won't get to see the rest of the match." the ANBU said.

"Huh?" was all Kiba could say before the ANBU put him and Akamaru to sleep.

-------------------------

Neji smirked and looked away. "Fine then I'll show you."

He removed his hitai-ate to reveal a swastika on his forehead.

"I had this cursed seal carved into my forehead when I was four. My father Hyuga Hizashi and Hinata-sama's father, Hyuga Hiashi-sama, were twins. But because Hinata-sama's father was born first, he became a member of the main family while my father, born second, became a branch family member. Because I was born into the branch family, I was destined to get this seal. That day came on Hinata-sama's first birthday."

"Is that necessary just to distinguish the main and branch families?" Naruto questioned.

"No. The curse seal is the absolute fear of death given to the branch families by the main family. With a simple hand seal, he branch family members can be easily destroyed. This seal will only disappear after death. Sealing up the ability of the Byakugan along with it."

Naruto looked shocked at what he was told. _'So he hates the main family because they gave him the cursed seal?' _

"However the reason for my everlasting hate, is...the death of my father by the main family."

"Huh!" Naruto exclaimed.

"One night, Hinata-sama was taken by someone, but Hiashi-sama quickly took care of it and killed him. It was dark and he was wearing a mask...he was the Cloud Country Shinobi leader who had just signed the an alliance treaty. The Leaf wanted to avoid a war and so instead they made a deal with Cloud. The Cloud wanted the Hyuga family's advanced bloodline and the Byakugan. They demanded the corpse of Hiashi-sama.A war was safely avoided thanks to my dad... who as killed by the main family to replace Hyuga Hiashi's corpse."

Everyone listened with shock and some with remorse at Neji's tale.

"They were twins, their strengths virtually the same. Born first. Born second. Destiny was decided by just that. And this fight... your destiny was decided the moment I became your opponent."

Naruto's expression hardened.

"Your destiny is to lose to me. There's no doubt."

Naruto took a deep breath and straightened up. He lifted up the boomerang and pointed it at Neji.

"It's not right to think that destiny is all decided just because of the bad things that have happened to you."

"Your hopeless." Neji said as he put his hitai-ate back on. Then he ran forward and stuck Naruto in the chest. "It's over."

Naruto however, struggled to stay standing. "I won't loose to a coward who's always whining about destiny."

"An ignorant loser like you shouldn't be lecturing people who are born burdened with a destiny they cannot oppose. You could never understand what it's like to be burdened with a symbol you could never rid yourself of!"

Naruto and Jio both mentally scoffed at his remarks. Naruto pictured his childhood alone and shunned by those in the village.

"You shouldn't assume that you're the only one with... a burden. I carry one too, but so what?"

Neji became infuriated with Naruto's words. How dare he even think his problems could compare with his!

"Now I'm going to show you that destiny doesn't decide everything..." Naruto once again raised the boomerang and pointed it at Neji. "By beating you!"

_'Oi baka-fox. It's time.'_

Neji watched in horror as Naruto's wounds began to heal.

_'Im-impossible! Chakra is flowing out...what's going on?'_

With his Byakugan he watched as the chakra flowed from his stomach and out in a spiral motion. When it burst out, he saw a image of a monster. Nine chakra tails surrounded Naruto. Neji took a step back in horror. At the waiting area, Gaara's eyes widened at the presence he felt. Everyone in the stadium felt the prescence. The older shinobi knowing full well what it was while the younger ones watched in awe. Naruto directed his newly acquired chakra into the boomerang and flung it at Neji. The Hyuga genius quickly used Kaiten in order to deflect the fast approaching weapon, but was surprised to find that it went straight through his attack and hit him dead on.

Naruto used Kage Bunshin No Jutsu and sent his clones after Neji. Neji recovered from the hit and took on Naruto's clones. Naruto then sent chakra into the boomerang again and moved towards Neji. The Hyuga genius didn't even see Naruto move in front of him.

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Sakura and Ino could not believe Naruto was so good!

"When did he get so fast?" Ino said. "I didn't even see him move!"

Sakura looked at Jio. "That boomerang went straight through Neji's attack. How did that happen?"

"That is no ordinary boomerang. It's an ancient relic called an O-Part. Each O-Part has a special effect that can be activated when the right kind of chakra is infused into it. In this case, my boomerang has the power to cut through **anything**."

"Anything?" Ino asked skeptically.

Jio nodded. "You saw it for yourself. It cut though Neji's Kaiten like it was nothing, however it has one more effect."

"Which is?" Sakura asked.

Jio nodded towards the fight. The girls watched as Neji was send flying into the stadium wall.

"It doubles the users power."

The girls looked wide eyed at the feat Naruto had performed. Naruto's clones stood along side Naruto as Neji slid off the wall. The Hyuga genius wiped away some blood and glared at the blonde.

"I'm gonna prove to you that destiny can be changed...even by a loser like me."

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AN: I'm gonna stop there because I'm getting sleepy. I hope there weren't too many grammar and spelling errors. Well then the conclusion to the fight will be in the next chapter! Review if you can, but no flames. Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Well my friends here is the next chapter. I would like to thank the following for reviewing: **The Day Dreaming**, **loner**, **Windsbane**, **unlucky desert rider**, **Urd-20**, **the forth horseman**, and **Shirahata Emi**. You guys rock. Now on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan. I'm just a fan...and broke.

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Naruto watched Neji get back on his feet. He created 20 more clones before he charged with them at the genius. Neji grabbed some shurikens from his pouch and launched them at the oncoming clones. As some poofed away, he also charged at the crowed and took them out one by one. Naruto sped up through the smoke of the destroyed clones and charged Neji.

"I don't know much about the Hyuga, but if it's too much for you then you don't have to do anything anymore." He pulled his arm back and flared up the Kyubi chakra. "When I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuga!"

Neji activated his Kaiten at the last moment and both attacks clashed causing an explosion. Everyone in the audience watched with anticipation. Who would still be standing? Two figures were sent flying out of the cloud of dust and landed with a crash in the ground. Two small craters were created as a result of their ruff landing.

"Hey," said Sakura. "Which is Naruto?"

"I don 't know either!" Ino exclaimed.

Jio said nothing and waited for someone to climb out of the craters. They didn't have to wait long as a hand reached out of one of them. Neji pulled himself out of the hole. He coughed and wiped his mouth with the backside of his hand. Sakura and Ino stared, mouths agape, at the Hyuga prodigy. Neji slowly made his way over to the other crater where Naruto's still body was now visible. Tenten was watching in the crowd. Relieve washed over her when Neji climbed out of the crater. For a second there, she actually though he might have lost. She looked at Naruto's prone form.

_'Neji's Kaiten is a technique that knocks away the opponents chakra. By being the one who was advancing, it looks like Naruto suffered the greater amount of damage.' _Her eyes softened slightly. _'There is no Genin that can defeat Neji, but you were incredible Naruto. To push Neji this much...'_

Genma, the Jonin ref looked on, but did not declared Neji the winner.

"Loser," Neji began. "Sorry, but this is reality."

Suddenly, the ground under Neji began to tremble. Before he could do anything, Naruto burst from the ground and delivered a mighty upper cut onto Neji. The Hyuga genius was sent to the ground again. This time, however, he didn't get back up.

"Uh,... my body."

The Naruto clone disappeared, revealing a hole. Genma smirked at the blonde shinobi.

_'He's definitely not the same kid from a month ago. But one thing hasn't changed... his power to believe in himself. That becomes the power that changes destiny. He understands that... and it comes naturally to him.'_

Naruto huffed as he looked down at Neji. _'Damn, that took a lot out of me.'_

"Ugh, to quickly use Kage Bunshin in that situation... Your main Ninjutsu eh? How careless of me."

"I.." Naruto began. "I failed the academy graduation exam three times."

Jio raised his eyebrow at that. He wasn't aware of that little bit of information.

Naruto continued. "That's because, unluckily for me, the Ninjutsu test on the final exam was always decided as... always decided as my weakest Ninjutsu."

Neji looked surprised. Jio could not hide his surprise either...or anger for that matter of fact. Sakura and Ino gave him a worried look when he released a little bit of killer intent. Sakura looked down on the field at her friend with some confusion. Why would the test be designed so he would fail? Sure he wasn't good at Ninjutsu, but he wasn't the only student who had problems in that field. It didn't make any sense.

"The Bunshin no Jutsu was my worst Ninjutsu." Naruto said sadly. "You say destiny can't be changed, but I say stop whining about stupid crap like that. Since..."

Naruto turned away from Neji and scanned for Jio in the crowed. "You're not a loser like me." he said before turning to face him once again.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma declared.

"Yay! Naruto won!" Sakura cheered.

Soon, everyone in the audience began to clap. Sakura looked at the people around her with a smile. Jio was, again, surprised but he managed not to look it this time. These people kept on confusing him. Did they hate him and his brother or not? Why couldn't they make up their minds? It made judging this village harder and harder and it gave him a headache.

"That was incredible!" someone shouted.

"That was great!"

"Great fight shrimp!"

Yeah, these people definitely confused him, but he was happy there were some that acknowledged his brother. Naruto looked around at the people and gave them a peace sign. He laughed and jumped around the arena happily. It looked like there were somethings that you could not change about Naruto.

_'He still has the energy to run around? Geez what a stamina freak.' _Genma though.

_'Naruto is getting stronger and stronger.'_ Sakura though.

"That kids great." a kunoichi said beside Sakura.

"Yeah, he's gonna go far." a girl beside the kunoichi said.

Sakura sighed. _'I'm kind of jealous of you...When I watch you fight, I feel like I have to try harder. That's an incredible thing.'_

Ino noticed her friends sudden mood change. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Sakura said. She went back to cheering for Naruto in an effort to throw Ino off.

"Whoa! He won." said a surprised Shikamaru. "Seriously? I had assumed he was a lameass-type like me. Guess his training with Jio went better than I though."

"Lameass-type?" Shino questioned.

"Everyone's cheering him, he's totally a kickass-type. Plus I probably can't beat him. How depressing."

"To pull out the Nine-tails chakra without losing himself..." a stunned Kurenai said.

"Yeah, most of the Leaf here are surprised." Asuma said.

"Do you think... his brother taught him this." she questioned.

Asuma took a puff of his cigarette with Kurenai giving him a disapproving look.

"I wouldn't be surprised." he finally said.

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On the field, the medics had carried Neji off the field and Naruto had walked off. Jio noticed the look of anticipation in the audience. Of course, why wouldn't they? Ten minutes passed and the crowd began to get restless.

"Well I'll be right back." Jio said to Ino and Sakura.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Ino asked.

"I want to personally congratulate Naruto. I won't be long."

"Tell him I said congratulations too." Sakura said.

"Yeah me too!" Ino exclaimed.

"Will do."

He was about to walk up the stairs when the crowd began to boo.

"What's going on? Hurry up and start the next match!"

"How long are you going to keep us waiting!"

"Is Sasuke-kun even here for his match?" Ino asked worried.

_'Sasuke-kun...' _Sakura though worried.

Jio looked at the girls with some pity.

"Don't worry." he told them.

The girls looked at him confused.

"Because he's an Uchiha," he spat out the word with some venom, "he won't get disqualified. Trust me, if it were anyone else they wouldn't be given a chance."

He walked away before the girls could question him about his statement. It wasn't that he didn't like the Uchiha (he didn't even know the kid!), but he was still a little pissed about the extra training Kakashi had been giving him. He felt his rage was justified when it involved his brother. Jio managed to get into the wing that lead to the waiting balcony since security was lax there. Which he did find kind of strange. He decided it would be fun to give Naruto a little surprise. With an evil grin, he made a hand sigh and poofed onto the balcony.

"Boo." he said as he tapped Naruto's shoulder.

"Waah!" Naruto jumped onto Shikamaru who caught him.

"Hmm, didn't think I'd scare you." Jio said mildly amused by Shikamaru's uncomfortable look at Naruto's closeness.

Shikamaru dropped the blonde ninja. Naruto rubbed his head and stood up.

"Well you did pop out of no where." he said with a sheepish grin.

"What are you doing here?" said an annoyed voice.

Jio turned towards the voice and came face to face with Temari.

"It's nice to see you too Temari-san."

"Cut the 'san' crap. You know I hate it when you use it."

"So you don't hate me?"

Temari looked like she was about to smack him.

"You should stop while you're ahead." Kankuro told him. "If you're tryin' to win points with her that not the way to do it."

Jio raised an eyebrow. "Who said I'm trying to win points?"

"Like I'd give him the time of the day." Temari spat. She put some distance between them by going to the railing next to Kankuro. She effectively began to ignore him.

Jio turned his attention to Gaara who was watching him like a hawk. Jio returned the stare.

"You have something to say?"

"Back at the hospital, is this what you meant?"

He obviously remembered their little conversation in Rock Lee's hospital room. Nice to know he was good at remembering little details. Kankuro and Temari were now looking at him with some shock. They must be surprised that he met Gaara... and lived.

"You're half way there."

Gaara shifted his gaze back to the arena. Kankuro and Temari did the same.

"You are Jio-san, correct?" Shino asked.

"Yeah...why?"

"Just making sure." Shino said before turning his gaze to the crowd. "I've heard from Shikamaru that you trained Naruto."

"I did."

Shino 'hmmed' but didn't ask anything else. Jio shrugged it off and told Naruto that Sakura and Ino said congratulation. He looked very happy to hear that and asked if he had seen Hinata anywhere. Jio shook his head, but assured him that she probably did see his match. Naruto's mood did a 180 and went from happy to worried.

"Do you think they'll disqualify him?" Naruto asked Jio.

"Doubt it. " he responded.

Sure enough, Genma soon made the announcement that Sasuke and Gaara's fight had been pushed back. Genma called Shino and Kankuro to the stage. Jio cast a side glance at Kankuro. The puppeteer didn't look too happy about the announcement.

"Shoot." he said. His face crumpled in frustration. He then cast a glance at the puppet on his back._ 'This match doesn't even matter... I'm more worried about revealing the gimmick that was planted into Karasu before the plan begins. There's no way that I'm going to do that.'_

"I forfeit!" he announced.

"Huh?" said a surprised Naruto. Shikamaru also looked alarmed, but that was probably due to the fact that now he had to go next.

Jio's eyes narrowed. Why would he forfeit? Surely he wasn't afraid to fight, so why? Jio observed Temari. She looked a bit frustrated. Was it because her brother forfeited? No, if that was the reason then she'd most likely look disappointed or mad. There had to be a different reason. What was going on? His thoughts were interrupted when Temari pulled out her fan. She created some wind with it and hopped on it. She rode it down to the arena.

"Someone's enthusiastic." Jio commented. _'Still, I can't help but feel something is really wrong. The ANBU and Orochimaru being here reinforces those feelings. I wonder if that snake bastard is some where in the crowd.'_

"Looks like you're eager." Genma said. "Shikamaru! Get down here!"

Shikamaru looked less than enthusiastic at the thought.

_'What's she getting all excited about? I wish she'd just die! Well, I guess I can also forfeit and...'_

His musing was cut off when Naruto gave him an encouraging shove.

"Alright! Shikamaru go for it!"

"Eh?" was all Shikamaru could say as he was sent tumbling over the railing. He landed flat on his back.

Jio sweat dropped. "You know that probably wasn't the best way to send him off."

"Oops?" Naruto offered as an apology.

"Hey! Hurry and fight!" someone in the crowed yelled.

"Yeah! Hurry up and finish this crappy match!" someone else added.

"Get up kid! How long are you going to lie there!"

Shikamaru sighed. _'Everyone want's to see Sasuke's fight. They're probably angry because after all this waiting they have to watch this pathetic excuse for a match. Since nobody cares about this fight, there isn't really any point to do it.'_

"What, are you giving up too?" Temari taunted.

_'Aw man, a girl again?'_

"He's not really motivated is he?" Jio questioned the Konoha Genin.

"I suppose not." Shino answered.

"Good luck Shikamaru!" Naruto cheered his friend.

"If you won't come then I will!" Temari said as she charged.

"Hey! I didn't start the match yet!" Genma exclaimed.

"Definitley too eager." Jio said. "I hope Shikamaru doesn't get hurt too badly."

Shikamaru noticed the charging kunoichi and pulled out two kunai's.

"Oh man, that girl is really revved up." he observed.

Temari slammed down her fan. Dust kicked up everywhere. As it cleared, Shikamaru was revealed. The two kunai's he pulled out where embedded on the wall and he stood on them.

"Ya know, I don't really want to fight and I don't care whether I become a Chunin or not... but I'm not going to lose to a girl!"

Jio and Naruto smirked. Perhaps there was hope for the lazy shinobi.

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AN: I'm stopping right there. Next time, Shikamaru's fight and Sasuke appears... and maybe I'll write the beginning of the invasion. Maybe. Until next and please review, but no flames.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Er, hello? Heh, sorry it took so long, but my life got really stressful last semester at school and it didn't help when I also got a job. Now that I've more or less settled into my job and finished planning for my next semester at school, I felt I need to update this now. I mean, it's been a few months by now and it wouldn't do to leave my audience hanging. Well, without further ado, here is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan. Kishimoto Masashi and Seishi do. Bow down to their mightiness!

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"Can't have a guy losing to a girl...so...well, I guess I'll do it!" Shikamaru said from his spot on the wall.

Temari smirked and once again swung her fan in Shikamaru's direction. A blast of wind hit the area Shikamaru was in. Once enough of the dust had cleared, Temari noticed her opponent was gone.

"Ha! He's great at running away!"

Shikamaru looked at her from behind a small tree. _'But, even so, a guy just can't go around hitting women so...'_

"Bust her up! Shikamaru! Get her with a **16** hit combo!"

Shikamaru groaned form his position. What the heck was Ino talking about?

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Jio and Naruto chuckled at Ino's outburst.

"Looks like he's in a tight spot." Jio commented.

"Do ya think he can win?" Naruto asked. "I mean, as far as I know, I've only seen him use one jutsu. Can that be enough?"

Jio crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a moment.

"Sensei once told me: 'A ninjas strength does not lie in the number of jutsus he knows, but in his ability to use the ones he has to the fullest.' If what you say is true, then his victory will depend on how well he makes use of his jutsu."

_'Wow.'_ Naruto though._ 'I guess Ero-sennin can say some good stuff once in a while.'_

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"Is it okay if I sit here?"

Ino looked surprised at the speaker. Not because she didn't know who it was, but because it was her team mate that was supposedly sick at the hospital with a bad stomach.

"What's with you? Your stomachs alright already?"

Choji ignored her and sat down beside her. "Huh? Wasn't it suppose to be Sasuke's match next?" he asked without noticing Sakura's mood drop.

Ino knew all too well that just mentioning the moody Genin would make Sakura a depressed mess.

"Sshh! Don't mention S-a-s-u-k-e around Sakura!" she whispered to her teammate. She looked back at her friend only to see her in worse shape than before. _'And here I hoped spelling out his name wouldn't make her notice. Well she isn't a brain for nothing. Best to leave her alone for now.'_

Choji shifted his gaze from Sakura to Shikamaru.

"Hmm, for Shikamaru to be in the finals, it seems really out of place doesn't it?" He questioned Ino.

"Don't say that! Sure he doesn't have any special techniques but Shikamaru's really great at planning strategies, right? I get the feeling that's how we were able to survive until the final preliminary rounds, you know!"

"Hmm, yea I guess, but he'll just quit real soon anyway. I'm tellin' ya he's definitely gonna give up."

"And I'm saying he won't!" she turned her attention back to the match. "Just now, he jumped down into the ring on his own so... he seemed unusually revved up to go! He gets pretty hot about some things! GO SHIKAMARU!" she cheered.

-------------------

Shikamaru gazed longingly at the sky.

_'Oh man, those clouds are so lucky. So free. More to the point, I didn't feel like doing this at all to begin with...I only became a ninja because I though life would be more interesting as one...I suppose things aren't gonna be that simple'_

Shikamaru scanned his surrounding and came to a stop at the hole Naruto had created. His face became blank. Temari was getting impatient with the shadow ninja, but she knew she couldn't rush him from his current position. She would just walk right into his trap. With the trees providing more shadows for him, Shikamaru would be able to capture her if she got too close.

_'What is he doing? Is he making fun of me!'_ She thought angrily._ **'Ninpou Kamaitachi!'**_

A greater wind than the one, before swept through the area and into the stands. The wind was even powerful enough to cut into the trees. Temari stood, waiting for any sign of movement. Suddenly a shadow rushed towards her. Alarmed, Temari jumped back. She came to a stop once the shadow came to a stop as well.

'_It's beginning to shrink!'_

Temari quickly used her fan to draw a line in the ground.

"Ah, I see. I've seen through your **Kagemane No Jutsu**!"

Shikamaru said nothing.

"Looks like there is a limit to how much you can stretch, shrink and change the shape of your shadow, isn't there? No matter how much you change and stretch the shape of your shadow, you still can't stretch it any further than the surface area of you normal shadow, right?"

"Haha, that's right." Shikamaru conceded.

'_Judging by the distance from where he attacked with his shadow, from the furthest point the shadow from the stadium wall stretched….taking into account the possibility of him using the stadiums shadow to extend his own… In other words, after subtracting the walls shadow from the distance to this point is the distance that he can attack with this shadow.'_

Temari tapped the line she had made with her fan. _'This is the outer limit that his shadow attack should be able to stretch to. Even if Shikamaru's against the wall or at the edge of the wall's shadow, the distance he can stretch his shadow should be the same: 15 meters and 30 centimeters.'_

-----------------------

Kankuro watched his sisters' match with out showing much emotion. However, inside his head, he was carefully analyzing his sisters' moves.

'She's marked the distance of the shadow with her fan. Temari's even better at ranged combat than she is at close combat. The match has already been decided."

Jio was also analyzing the match, but he wasn't as quick to declare a winner. While it was true that Shikamaru's jutsu had a limit, but looks could be deceiving. Shikamaru was not out of the match yet. If anything, this match was going to get more interesting.

-------------------------

Shikamaru looked at the sky and then back to Temari. He relaxed himself and closed his eyes. He brought his thumbs and fingers together in the shape of an O. Temari tensed in anticipation of an attack, but nothing came.

--------------------------

In the stands, Asuma's eyes lit up in recognition.

"What is that? That seal…." Kurenai questioned.

"That's no seal." Asuma responded. Kurenai looked at him questioningly. "It's a habit of his."

"Habit?"

"He knows how to slowly take his time. He actually enjoys it. Like one of those old geezers. That's why he likes things like Shougi and Go. I've been playing against him a lot recently, and when he's backed into a corner he always does that. It's a sign that he's working on some strategy. As a result I've never won a game off him. Not even once."

Kurenai looked at him with doubt. "You speak of strategies, but this is a real fight. Not some game you know!"

"But it is said that those games originally had their roots as a device for tacticians to plot their wars with. So I guess you could say that Shikamaru's a shrewd tactician."

"Shrewd? Hold on a minute! I saw his grades when they were deciding the Genin squad assignments. He was supposed to be at the same level as Naruto!"

Asuma grunted. "He always claimed it was too much hassle to even move the pencil for the academy written exams. It seems that he would always sleep through his tests. Once it struck me as strange that he could be so strong at strategic games despite his grades. So I had him take an IQ test disguised as a game. I wasn't really taking it seriously at the time…"

"So? How was it?"

Asuma's lips curved into a smile. "He sure was a diamond in the rough. He is a super genius with an IQ over 200!"

'_Tw-two hundred!'_ Kurenai thought shocked.

'_He's done planning! It'll begin now!'_ Asuma thought with excitement.

--------------------------

"Looks like you're finally going to be a little serious!" Temari exclaimed.

Temari again used her Kamaitachi No Jutsu. Shikamaru drew a kunai and began to move.

"There's no use hiding!" Temari yelled as she attacked again.

Shikamaru ducked for cover. Once the wind died down, Shikamaru proceeded to take off his shirt. He continued to dodge Temari's attacks for about twenty minutes. Everyone was wondering whether Shikamaru actually had a plan of attack.

"How long are you going to keep running away for?! Give up already!" Temari exclaimed.

She swung her fan again, but this time a kunai flew out of the dust. Temari reacted quickly and opened her fan. The Kunai bounced right off. She closed her fan just in time to notice that the shadow was moving towards her again.

'_Ha! It's no use! As long as I'm on this side of the line there's no wa….'_ She sensed something was wrong and quickly jumped back.

"Very good. You saw through that." Shikamaru said.

"I see. You were whiling away the time. Waiting for the sun to drop lower so the shadows of the wall and yourself would grow larger."

Shikamaru grunted in response.

"The closer to sunset, the longer the shadows grow."

-----------------------------------

"Whoa, this match is pretty intense." Naruto said.

"Well there are different types of fights. This one happens to be more strategic than physical. Each of them is trying to stay one step ahead of each other. One miscalculation and it's over."

"Heh, who knew Shikamaru was so smart!" Naruto exclaimed. "If he can outwit the sand chick then he's got this match in the bag!"

-----------------------------------

'_From the height of the sun and judging from the earlier attacks, my calculations say this should be the limit of his jutsu.'_

"Temari from above!" Kankuro yelled.

Temari head shot up. _'What?'_

She looked down to see a small shadow appear in front of Shikamaru's. Temari jumped away as fast as she could. The shadow continued to follow her.

"You won't escape!"

'_No way, to use his shirt to make a parachute to add to the shadow. He's quite an impressive fellow. He drew away my attention to the ground with the shadow attack so I wouldn't notice what was going on above. The when I finally notice the parachute I'm attacked from below as well. A sneaky plan to create an opening, but now it's all clear to me! The Shadow Copy No Jutsu is…'_

-------------------------------------

"A technique that attacks by controlling your own and other shadows." Jio said. "Very interesting. What's more impressive is the way Shikamaru is using his jutsu and the terrain in order to take full advantage of his attack."

"So even if it's his only jutsu, he can use it so well that it doesn't matter that it's his only one." Naruto said in awe. _'It's kind of like me. Even though the only jutsu I was good at was the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, I tried to use it in many different way so I could confuse the enemy. Maybe he's not such a slacker after all. Especially if he's gotta out smart his opponent.'_

---------------------------------------

Temari finally came to a stop when the shadow could no longer follow her.

"To be able to dodge even that attack…."

Temari looked up at the position of the sun. _'If I keep this up, his shadow will keep growing and he'll keep expanding his reach.'_ Temari opened her fan and set it on the ground in front of her._ I'll end it here! I'll divert his attention with the Bunshin no Jutsu. First I'll hide behind the fan and create a clone. Then I'll jump out and draw his attention and with that opening… I'll use all my chakra and create the strongest possible Kamaitachi and rip him apart!'_

Temari looked down to see Shikamaru's shadow receding. _'Good'_ she thought.

She began to make the hand sign for Kage Bunshin, but something stopped her.

'_Impossible! My body….'_

"Heh, finally. Shadow Copy no Jutsu, success!"

"Wha?" Temari asked in confusion.

---------------------------------------

"What happened?" Kankuro asked no one in particular.

"It seems Shikamaru knows how to take full advantage of his surrounding." Jio said.

--------------------------------------

"Why… won't my body move? That shadow can't have reached this far…"

"I'll show you what's behind you." Shikamaru said as he turned his head. Temari's eyes widened at what she saw. Behind her was the hole Naruto had created during his fight with Neji.

"You've noticed it haven't you?" Shikamaru questioned. "That's the hole Naruto dug and ambushed with in the previous battle. It's connected to the larger hole in front of you."

"No way…The shadow inside the tunnel.."

"Exactly."

'_It can't be!'_ Temari thought. _'The attack using the shirt was just to move me to this spot? That was also a diversion? Th-this guy..'_

Temari could do nothing as Shikamaru began walking towards her and she towards him.

----------------------------

"He did it!" Naruto exclaimed.

----------------------------

"Go!" Ino also cheered.

Choji began to eat his bag of chips faster as he watched.

----------------------------

"That's it…. I give up." Shikamaru stated.

Everyone, including Temari, looked shocked. In the stands, Choji mad sure to let Ino know he had predicted the outcome correctly.

"What?" Temari exclaimed.

"I give up." He stated again. "The continuous use of the Shadow Copy no Jutsu has used up all of my chakra. I can barely bind you for 10 more seconds. I had though up about 200 more moves, but it looks like I'm out of time. I'm getting tired of this. One match is enough for me."

'_Weird fellow.'_ Genma though with a smirk. "Winner, Temari!"

No one in the stands was sure how to react. Ino for example, clench her fists in frustration and why not? Her teammate had a chance to become a Chunin, but it seemed like he just wasted it. Choji smiled regardless of the outcome. After all Shikamaru was only being himself. Naruto groaned in disbelief that his friend had given up in the end. Jio smirked at the genin. In truth he had really surprised him. Who knew that that lazy genin had the qualities to become an excellent Chunin?

Shikamaru stretched and slowly made his way back to the contestant's balcony. Once he was back up, Naruto good naturally slapped Shikamaru's back. Shikamaru was just glad he wasn't near any railings this time. He and Naruto began to converse with Shino just listening in. Temari came next with an unhappy look on her face.

"You know, you did well." Jio told her.

Temari stopped and looked at him with a scowl. "I don't want your pity."

Jio crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from her. "I'm not pitying you. I'm just stating a fact. This match was the only one that showed that there are at least two candidates for Chunin." Jio turned slightly to look at her. "While Naruto and Neji's fight was interesting, they failed to show any skills that they would need as a Chunin. The rank is not given to someone just because they're strong. It's a rank given to someone who is able to balance the risks, sacrifice and the mission on a scale. If you can't act and think with the lives of the team as the top priority, you don't have what it takes to be a Chunin."

Temari looked a bit surprised that Jio was actually complementing her. Usually, their conversations would lead to just witty retorts and end with her fan on Jio's head.

"You'd make a find Chunin." Jio finished and quickly turned away from her.

Naruto noticed his brother had been talking with Temari a little too long and smirked when he saw Jio's cheeks tinted with red.

"Hey what's wrong bro? Got sunburn on your cheeks?" he asked with a grin.

Jio honestly wanted to beat his brother's head in.

"Naruto…" Jio warned.

Temari walked next to Kankuro and stood there silently.

'_Maybe he's not so bad after all….'_

Minutes passed and the crowd began to grow restless again. Kankuro looked doubtfully at the arena.

"Is he really going to come?"

"He'll come. Definitely." Gaara answered.

Suddenly, the wind picked up in the middle of the field and leaves swirled everywhere. In the middle of the field stood Kakashi with Sasuke. Naruto couldn't help but smile. His friend finally showed up.

'_Show off.'_ Jio thought in the back of his head.

"Sorry we're late." Kakashi said.

Genma smirked. "Your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura brightened up considerably when she saw Sasuke.

"Could that be…" Ino began.

"It's Sasuke-kun."

"Lee-san!" Sakura exclaimed.

Gai and Lee stood next to them with smiles on their faces. In truth they were all surprised that Lee was even able to walk around in his condition. Sasuke scanned the contestant's balcony. He spotted the Konoha and Sand genin along with someone he didn't know. Kakashi also took noticed and made sure to find out who the boy was later.

"I know we made a flashy entrance and all, but could Sasuke possibly be…. disqualified?" Kakashi asked Genma.

"No, Sasuke's fight was pushed back to last."

"Ahaha, That's good!"

Sasuke felt someone eyes on him. He turned towards the contestant's balcony to find Gaara staring at him intently.

"Kyaaa Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed.

'_He's worked so hard but she's already moved on to Sasuke.'_ Choji thought disappointed. _'Poor Shikamaru.'_

The restless crowed had calmed down and were now buzzing with excitement.

"Sakura, your team is pretty amazing!" Ino said.

"What is?"

"Because who would have thought Naruto would beat that Neji and Sasuke-kun is an elite Uchiha. It looks like everyone here is excited about watching Sasuke-kun's fight."

Hearing all this, Lee couldn't help but feel inferior. Sasuke was about to fight the opponent he couldn't beat and Naruto defeated the rival he could only dream of beating. Ir hurt knowing he was being left behind. Gai watched his student with sympathy. There was nothing he could really do for him.

Jio watched Gaara from the corner of his eyes. He may not have been showing it, but he could feel the anticipation coming from him. He took a look at Temari and Kankuro. They seemed to be more tense than before.

"Gaara, get down here!" Genma called.

A maniac expression appeared on Gaara's face.

'_Not Good.'_ Temari thought. _'I haven't seen Gaara like this in quite a while.'_

"H-hey Gaara…. About the plan, do you under-" before Kankuro could finish his sentence, Temari covered his mouth.

"Don't talk to Gaara right now."

Kankuro looked confused.

"You'll be killed!" she told her brother.

Jio narrowed his eyes at the trio. What plan was Kankuro talking about? Gaara moved from his spot and headed down towards the stairs.

"Is Sasuke going to be alright?" Naruto questioned Jio.

He didn't want to lie to Naruto, so he told him what he thought. "No, unless he somehow learned a jutsu that'll enable him to kill Gaara in one blow."

Naruto looked even more worried.

"But don't worry. They wouldn't let Gaara kill him. If worse comes to worse, we'll have to get involved and take him out. After all, only you and I could stand a chance against him."

Shikamaru made a note to figure out what Jio's words meant. He didn't doubt that Jio possibly had the power to take on Gaara, but Naruto? What was Jio thinking?

Kakashi made his way towards Gai and the others.

"Heya Gai and Lee-kun too! You body is alright now?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Oh sorry, sorry! You must have been worried. Sorry for not contacting you at all."

Sakura only glared. She looked away and down at Sasuke. "That doesn't matter anymore."

Ino looked surprised at Sakura's sudden change of mood.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura began. "There was a mark right? Is that.."

"Don't worry." Was all Kakashi said and smiled at her.

Ino was confused as to what they were talking about. Sakura on the other hand, looked relieved and happy.

"BEGIN!" Genma exclaimed.

Gaara's sand poured out of his gourd. Sasuke quickly retreated to a safer distance. Now he knew what Kakashi meant by Gaara's sand. Gaara's attack stopped just as soon as it began. He clutched his head in pain.

"Don't…. get so angry" he wheezed out. "Mother…"

Sasuke looked on in confusion. _'What's he talking about?'_

"I fed you some nasty blood earlier" Gaara continued. "I'm sorry, but this time it will be delicious."

-----------------------------

"Finally, 'conversation' has begun. This is bad." Kankuro stated.

"I've never seen Gaara like this before a fight. Is he really that much of an opponent?"

'_He's probably talking to Shukaku.'_ Jio concluded.

'**I'd be bad if Shukaku took control of the boy. If he did, we'd have to get involved.'**

'_I know Houkou. I know.'_

-----------------------------

Gaara finally seemed to have regained control of himself and faced Sasuke. "Come."

Wasting no time, Sasuke launched shurikens at Gaara. Using his sand, he made a clone of himself that caught the shurikens. The sand stretched out and slammed towards Sasuke. The Uchiha prodigy jumped in the air only to have the sand clone throw back the stars at him. Sasuke countered with more and deflected the shuriken from him. As he descended on the sand clone, he attempted to kick through it. It worked and its hands were blown apart. He continued his onslaught, but his hand was caught in the clones sand. Using his other hand, Sasuke blew apart the clones head with one punch.

With the clone taken care of, he had a clear shot towards Gaara. However, the sand rose up and protected him before the punch connected. Sasuke smirked and appeared behind Gaara.

'_Fast! Jut like….him!'_

This time, Sasuke's punch landed.

-----------------------------

Gai and Lee were both surprised that Sasuke was so fast…. and using Lee's Taijutsu. Naruto was also shocked that Sasuke even knew it!

'_He wasn't even there for Lee's fight! There's no way he could have copied it this flawlessly. The little fight they had before the exam wasn't enough for him to learn his entire style….unless…'_

Kakashi was the one who had been training Sasuke and he was also there during Lee's fight. That meant that while Kakashi had his Sharingan revealed, he copied Lee's Taijutsu and let Sasuke copy it from him. For some reason, he felt like Lee had been cheated out of something important.

---------------------------

Sasuke took Lee's Taijutsu stance and began his assault. Gaara's sand could not keep up with Sasuke's speed and he was kicked to the ground.

"What's wrong? Is that it?"

Gaara's sand swirled around him in an effort to stop Sasuke's attack, but it was no use, Sasuke's punches and kicks connected again and again. Gaara stood up from his latest visit with the ground and formed a hand seal. His sand swirled around him. Sasuke tried to reach him, but soon Gaara was encased in a cocoon of sand.

'_Gaara isn't…. not that jutsu!'_ Kankuro thought frantically.

Sasuke's knuckles were dripping with blood from the impact against the sand cocoon.

'**Kit, I feel a disturbance. If Gaara isn't stopped, he will awaken Shukaku.'**

Naruto turned to look at Jio in alarm. Judging from Jio's grim expression, he guessed that Houkou had just told him the same thing.

"We have to stop the fight!" Naruto told Jio.

"I know."

"Let's go talk to Kakashi-sensei!"

Jio nodded and both of them ran towards the stairs. Naruto grabbed Shikamaru along the way.

"Hey wait!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"I need you to confirm to Kakashi-sensei that Gaara isn't a normal genin. You're a witness too!"

When they got to the hallway, they saw two bodies lying on the floor. The walls were covered in blood. Naruto and Shikamaru were horrified with what they saw, but tried their best to keep calm. They jumped over the blood and continued to run towards the stands. When they reached the stands they quickly scanned the crowd for Kakashi.

"There!" Jio pointed out. He was with Gai, Lee, Sakura, Ino and Choji. As they ran they heard a noise, like that of many birds.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed.

Kakashi and the others turned to look at Naruto, Shikamaru and Jio.

"You have to stop the fight! Gaara isn't like us! If we let this go on he'll kill Sasuke!"

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Ino asked confused.

"I don't have time to explain! Kakashi-sensei!"

"Just shut up and watch." Kakashi said sternly.

"No." Jio said firmly.

"And who might you be?" Kakashi asked in his usual way.

Jio was about to respond when at that point Sasuke charged at the sand cocoon. Jio's eyes widened.

"Son of a bitch!" he swore loudly. _'He stalled us long enough for Sasuke to complete his assault!'_

Everyone's attention was brought back to the match.

"What is that Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"The reason I trained Sasuke is because he is the same type as me. I taught him my ultimate attack: Chidori!"

Just as he finished saying those words, the attack broke thought the sand and pierced Gaara. Naruto and Jio watched with horror as they felt Shukaku's chakra spike. It was too late to stop the beast from awakening.

----------------------------

AN: Well I hope you're all happy with the chapter. It was 14 pages long, but then again you all deserved it after waiting for so long. Well guys until next time, please review and no flames. Later!


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Yeesh, could I have waited any longer to do this? Probably, but I got off my lazy butt and wrote this chapter. I think I've made you wait long enough. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan (O-Parts Hunter).

---------------------------------

Ch 9

Naruto and Jio held their breath as they witnessed Sasuke pierce through Gaara's dome of sand. Naruto was amazed that Sasuke was able to do such a thing, but at the same time, he worried for his life. If that had not killed Gaara, then Sasuke would more than likely be the one to die. In the stands, Kankuro and Temari were both in shock. How could this have happened? Through out this entire exam, they had witnessed many impossible feats from the Konoha nins. This one, however, topped the list.

"No way!" Kankuro exclaimed. "Gaara's absolute defense has been..."

"It's can't be..." Temari managed to choke out.

-------------------------------

In the Hokage's balcony, he too was surprised by Sasuke's attack.

"That's Kakashi's..."

Orochimaru could barely hide his enthusiasm. The Uchiha prodigy was more powerful than he could have hoped. When the time came, that precious body would become his.

--------------------------------

Back in the audience, Jio and Naruto were still waiting for any sign that Gaara was dead...or alive.

"Chidori," Gai began "or as it's also known, the **Lighting Edge **(Raikiri)."

"Lighting Edge?" questioned Sakura.

"The Lightning Edge is a nickname earned when Kakashi cut a bolt of lighting with that technique."

Each of the genin looked at Gai with varying expressions. Sakura looked a little astonished yet confused at the same time. Ino out right didn't believe a word Gai had said and Choji was amazed at the revelation.

"It's true name is Chidori," Gai continued "It is known for it's stabbing speed that pushes the limits of the human body and the huge amount of chakra that is focused in one arm. That arm then becomes the blade of a swords that cuts anything. But...what a truly ridiculous technique it is.."

"Like you should talk." Kakashi then looked at Gai's young prodigy. "Right Lee-kun?"

Sakura turned her attention back to the battle ground. "Well, it's beyond my level of understanding but what an amazing technique!"

Lee looked down at the battle as well. A frown formed on his face.

_'I can understand...I wouldn't run with that speed straight into my opponent in that manner. Actually, I can't do it. A straight forward attack makes it easy for the opponent to counter and I don't have the "eye" to see that counter. I'm jealous of your lineage...Sasuke-kun. That one time we fought in the past, I told you this: "Even if you can see it, if your body can't move there's nothing you can do." That was my sense of superiority. But now...' _ Lee clutched his crutch tighter. _'But now you have the same body speed that I had but you also have the Sharingan!'_

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto and Jio. They were both still very tense and Jio's right hand twitched ever so often. Like he was getting ready to attack.

_'What's going on? Why are Naruto and Jio so worked up over Gaara? Sure he's a psychopath, but there seems to be more to it than that. What could it be?'_

--------------------------------

"I've got you." Sasuke said with finality in his voice.

Inside, Gaara began to notice something was wrong.

"What's this warm stuff? Mother what did..."

He felt something warm dripping from his shoulder. Gaara, put two and two together. He was bleeding.

"UWAAAAA! Blood...my blood!"

Gaara had taken a wound. It was something his siblings could not believe. What kind of ninjas were these leaf genin? At that moment Sasuke tried to pull out his arm, but he couldn't budge it from the sand dome He once again used Chidori with the hope that his arm would be freed. It worked. As he pulled his arm out, something else was pulled out with it.

Temari and Kankuro looked at the arm with shock and fear. Everyone else was confused by this turn of events. Jio and Naruto almost jumped down into the field, but resisted the urge to do so. They needed to analyze the situation before they acted.

"What's that?" Gai questioned.

"Nii-san, has he..." Naruto whispered.

"I don't know. It's possible he's only partially transformed, but if he has, then we have no choice but to engage him."

In the contestants balcony, Temari and Kankuro were starting to panic.

"Did he transform into his complete form?!" Kankuro asked his sister.

"I don't know! It looks like he's been wounded. This has never..." she didn't finish her statement.

Kankuro new very well what his sister was saying. This never happened before. This wasn't suppose to happen now. Their plans, could very well be ruined.

_'I'm getting chills just from the memories...the first time I saw it I wasn't able to eat for a while...since it looks...'_

Down in the battle field, Sasuke looked at the hole in the dome. His eyes widened at what he saw through that hole. A yellowish eye was staring straight at him. Suddenly, the dome began to crack. Jio turned to Naruto.

"Give me Zero-Shiki."

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused.

"My boomerang. I think I'm going to need it."

Naruto nodded and handed over the weapon. Jio strapped it to his back and then pulled out a scroll. He opened it part way and something poofed out of it. Jio caught it and then handed it to Naruto.

"What's this?" Naruto asked as he examined the necklace he was given.

"An O-part." Jio answered.

"Huh?"

"See that medallion?" Naruto nodded as he put it on. "Well that medallion is actually made from a wolf's bone. However, the bone is special since it's actually an O-part."

"What's it's effect?" Naruto questioned.

"Fast movements. If things get ugly and you feel like you can't handle it, use that to escape from the battle. I don't know what going to happen next, but you can never be too careful."

"Can't I have an O-part that has a better effect?"

"I'm afraid you'd actually need to work with the O-part for a certain amount of time before you can..."

"Come on Jio! I know I can do it! Have a little more faith in me!"

Just as Jio was about to say no again, the sand dome fell. The brothers stopped their talk and focused on Gaara. Kakashi had been listening to what they were saying, and honestly, he had no clue what half of that meant. All he knew was that Jio was giving Naruto some sort of special weapons. He made it a point to find out what they were after the exam.

Gaara clutched his shoulder in pain. He couldn't believe he had been wounded. Is this what pain felt like? Sasuke looked confused. He had seen something in the dome and he was sure it had not been Gaara. The...creature he had seen did not posses eyes like Gaara's. Suddenly, feathers began to fall from the sky. Naruto felt himself start to get sleepy. Jio quickly slapped Naruto's head in an effort to keep him awake.

"It's Genjutsu." he declared.

Naruto, Jio, Kakashi, Gai, and Sakura quickly used Kai to deflect the Genjutsu. Before they knew it, there was an explosion from the Hokage's balcony. Then Sand and Sound ninja began to pour into the stadium. The leaf ninja all looked alarmed at the turn of events.

"Jio we're out of time! Please give me a better weapon to fight with!"

Jio clenched his fists, but relented. Things had taken a turn for the worst. He should at least make sure Naruto was well armed.

"Fine." Jio took out the scroll again and another weapon poofed out. This time it was a ring.

"Quite giving me jewelry!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Just shut up and take it! This ring has a wind effect. It can be very deadly if used properly, but since you don't have the practice to do it, the most you'll probably be able to do is create a small tornado. Don't loose it, I'm just borrowing it from a friend."

Naruto slipped on the ring and nodded. A crash was heard from outside the stadium and another from the Hokages balcony. They turned in time to see the ANBU heading towards the Hokage, but just as they had reached the balcony, something bursted past them and onto the roof of the central watchtower. Other ninja jumped passed the ANBU and landed on four separate corners of the roof.

_'What are they doing?'_ Jio pondered.

Jio got his answer when a purple wall appeared. The ANBU found themselves unable to go any further.

"He's the one who used the Genjutsu?"

Jio turned towards a Konoha nin who was looking over a body.

"Seems like it.." answered another.

"This is bad." Kakashi stated.

"Nine traitors." Gai said.

Jio mently cursed at the events. He wished he knew where Jiraiya was. He'd be able to help bring down that purple barrier the enemy nin set up. He looked down at the stadium to see that Temari, Kankuro and Baki had joined Gaara. He could hear them arguing about whether or not to proceed with the plan since Gaara was no longer able to do his part.

_'So they were planning on using Gaara in his transformed form, but he got excited and wanted to do his own thing.'_

He didn't know if they were lucky or unlucky since even though Gaara would not be used in the invasion, he was still a threat in his current state. He noticed then that Temari and Kankuro took their leave as Baki prepared to fight Genma and Sasuke. However, Sasuke soon took flight after the Sand Siblings.

_'This is not good.'_ Jio thought. Why did everything seem to be going wrong?

"Kakashi, look within the barrier." Gai said.

"OROCHIMARU!" Kakashi exclaimed.

Sakura and Naruto looked alarmed. That snake freak had been causing trouble since the beginning of the exam! Sakura quickly looked for Sasuke in the battle field, but realized he was gone. Two sound nin attacked her at that precise moment, but Kakashi was able to defeat them.

"Sakura, stay like that for a bit. I'll even the odds a little."

"Allow me to help." Jio said. He turned to Naruto. "Tell Shikamaru to stop pretending and protect this area for a bit."

Naruto looked over at Shikamaru. The lazy nin rolled over and said something about this whole situation being very troublesome. However, he at least seemed willing to help. Jio jumped down towards Genma and Baki as Naruto and Shikamaru engaged the enemy nin. Kakashi was surprised that Naruto was able to take on what were, most likely, Jonin and Chunin ninja. He was also surprised that Naruto knew Kai. Who had been teaching him all this?

Using his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Naruto help Kakashi and Gai hold down a perimeter around the Konoha civilians. Shikamaru assisted him by holding down some of the enemy nin and then letting go at the last second so that Naruto could use his army of clones to beat them down. Naruto briefly glanced at the field to see Jio biting his thumb.

_'Is he going to summon?'_ Naruto wondered

--------------------------------

Down in the field, Jio looked at Genma and Baki.

"Get out of the way. Both of you."

Genma looked skeptically at the Konoha/Rock nin as did Baki. When they didn't make a motion to move, he bit his thumb and began going through the summoning seals.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." he finished as he slammed his hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Genma and Baki got the point and decided to put some distance between them and Jio. From the amount of chakra Jio used, it seemed he was summoning something big. Soon enough the stadium shook with the howls of wolves. The howls seemed to have paralyzed everyone and for a few moments all was quite. That only lasted until seven white wolfs, roughly the size of a bear that stood on it's hind legs, began to attack the Sound and Sand nin. The biggest wolf, who was probably the alpha, calmly walked towards Naruto and the other nins with Jio on his head. This wolf was not only huge, it also had a vertical black mark that went over his eye and a feather like necklace attached to his ear. Jio jumped off the wolfs head and joined Naruto and Shikamaru in their efforts to get rid of the rest of the enemy nins.

"Sakura-san," Jio said. Sakura immediately looked at him. "Please wake up Ino-san and Choji-san."

"W-why?"

"I know that we are in a dangerous situation and they might not be prepared to handle this, but I need someone to take care of a mission for me."

"Are you sure?" Kakashi said. "They don't even have any weaponry on them."

Jio didn't answer and rammed his kunai into one of the Sound nins head and then used Kage Bunshin to attack another with the same method. Then without batting an eye, he removed their shuriken holders and their weapons pouch.

"It shouldn't be a problem now."

"Are you still sure? I'm not even too certain they have enough battle experience for what you might want them to do." Kakashi stated.

"Don't worry. What I want them to do won't be too difficult."

"If you're sure..."

Jio nodded to Sakura and she proceeded to undo the Genjutsu on Ino and Choji. The two genin were groggy at first, but were wide awake the minute they saw their surroundings.

"W-what's going on?" Ino asked in fear. Choji didn't look any better.

"Ino-san, Choji-san and Shikamaru listen carefully. I have a mission for you." The three genin looked at Jio. "I need you three to go to the Academy and protect the students and civilians that will be evacuating there."

"B-but, we don't have any weapons and we're not even strong enough too fight some of these ninja!" Ino exclaimed.

"You won't be fighting alone." Jio whistled and the two wolves stopped what they were doing to gather by Jio's area. "Kazu and Kaze will accompany you to the academy and help defend the civilians. All you have to do is help keep everyone calm and direct them towards a safe location. Should some ninja get past them, you still have the Chunin instructors who will help defend the civilians. Remember you are also Leaf Ninja and you are capable of fighting with the best of them."

He handed them the ninja gear he confiscated. The two genin reluctantly geared up. Jio looked at Shikamaru.

"You're in charge of this mission. I know you're more than capable of handling this."

"Teh, this is troublesome, but I guess I'll help out."

Jio smirked but said nothing. Ino and Choji jumped on Kazu while Shikamaru jumped on Kaze.

"Well then kids, lets get going!" Kazu said as he leaped over the stadium wall.

"You can talk!" Ino exclaimed while Choji and Shikamaru merely raised an eyebrow at the phenomenon.

"Tayl." Jio called. Another wolf walked towards Jio. "Find Sensei and tell him that Orochimaru has attacked."

The wolf nodded and took off towards one of the village gates. Jio called the remaining wolfs to him.

"Most of the enemy nin have been eliminated with your help. Now I need the rest of you to go about the village and eliminated any others you may find. Help the civilians when ever needed." All the wolves took off in different direction except the alpha wolf. Jio then looked at the Alpha with a questioning gaze.

"I'll get rid of that summon. I haven't had a taste of snake in a long time." It looked like the wolf was grinning.

"So that was the crash we heard. Well then Zero, I leave it to you."

Zero jumped over the wall and towards, what he considered, a waiting meal. Kakashi coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Now that that is taken care of," Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sakura. "I will be sending you two on an A class mission."

Sakura looked shocked while Naruto remained calm and waited for Kakashi to continue. Kakashi was a little surprised that Naruto did not jump up and down in happiness, but decided not to let it bother him.

"Sasuke has gone in pursuit of the Sand shinobi. Your mission is to track him down and stop him. Then take him to a safe location."

Kakashi then looked over at Jio who had just finished off another Sound nin. Jio looked back at him when he felt someone's gaze.

"I hope you don't mind going as their team leader." Kakashi said in his usual laid back tone.

"Of course not."

Kakashi nodded and quickly took down another nin before cutting his thumb. _' Kuchiyose no Jutsu!'_

A little dog appeared and greeted the shinobi.

"Pakkun here will assist you in tracking down Sasuke."

"Right!" Naruto, Sakura and Jio said.

Naruto was about to turn and go towards the exit, when a blur went towards him. Naruto realized it too late and knew he couldn't counter fast enough. Lucky for him, Gai had his back. He punched the Sound nin right through the wall. The three ninja and dog nodded towards each other and proceeded to jump through the wall. Before Jio could go however, he was stopped by the silver haired Jonin.

"What's you're name? You never got the chance to tell me."

"It's Jio." he looked back at Kakashi. "Uzumaki Jio."

He then jumped out with out another look back. If he had looked, he would have seen a wide eyed shinobi who, thanks to Gai, was able to stand stupefied without getting decapitated by enemy nin. Unbeknownst to them, another Konoha genin heard what was going on, and pursued Naruto and his companions.

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AN: Okay then, next chapter, Naruto takes on Gaara! Until next time, please review and no flames. Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Well another chapter in less than a week. I gotta admit, I'm just as surprised as you are. Well thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. Makes me glad to know that you guys are still reading. Enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan (O-Parts Hunter).

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Ch 10

Naruto, Jio, Sakura and Pakkun were hurriedly making their way through the forest towards Sasuke. Pakkun lead the way with Naruto and Sakura following close behind and Jio bringing up the rear.

"Hey! You guys, pick up the pace!" Pakkun barked at them.

"Huh, What is it?" Sakura asked.

"From behind, two squads with eight, no...one more, nine men are chasing us!"

"Already?" Naruto questioned.

"Don't look as if they've got a fix on our true position yet, but they're closin' in on us quickly while on the lookout against any surprise attacks."

"Well isn't this just great." Jio said sarcastically.

"Shit! Well if that's the case then we should just ambush 'em!" Naruto said. "We know the terrain better than they do!"

"That's true! We'd certainly have a great advantage if we were to ambush them!" Sakura, surprisingly, agreed with Naruto.

"It's no use. They're subordinates of Orochimaru, a former Konoha shinobi you know..." Pakkun added solemnly.

"I don't think it's impossible." Jio said. "Naruto and I could easily take out the enemy nin, but that would only slow us down. Plus we don't know what level these guys are at and we could possibly be in for a long fight and that's the last thing we want. We are, after all, chasing after Gaara and he won't be an easy person to get away from if he decides he wants to kill us."

"K-kill?" Sakura asked uncertainly.

Jio nodded. Naruto frowned, but acknowledged Jio's reasoning.

"So what are we going to do?" Naruto asked.

Jio came to a stop and the other three did the same. Jio then created four Kage Bunshin. Naruto's face brightened up and followed Jio's lead. Once they were done, Jio gave them the order to distract the enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Sakura looked questioningly at him, but Jio told her he'd explain it to her in a few minutes. The eight bunshin nodded and the Konoha nin were off once again.

"So what exactly are they going to do?" Sakura asked.

"Well Naruto and I trained on how to use our Kage Bunshin together in various situations. One of them was the distraction of enemy nin. Right now they're going to create a false track for them to follow and then two of them will confront the nins."

"Right." Naruto then continued. "The others will hide nearby and if the two clones are taken down, two others will take their place."

"By the time they realize what's happened, we'll be long gone." Jio added with a grin.

"I bet they wouldn't expect that from a bunch of kids!" Naruto said with a laugh.

Sakura could not believe what she was hearing. Naruto actually knew how to plan something like this? How much had he improved in that one month of training?

------------------------------------------

Back with the clones, they had cleverly made Pakkun's tracks with a few twigs and of course, used their sandals for the other Konoha nin. The clones found a nice clearing where they finally stopped. Two stayed in the clearing while the others went and hid. Jio's clone took a seat by a tree while Naruto's sat on the branch. They didn't have to wait too long for the Sound nin's to arrive.

"Well if it isn't a bunch of kids." One said mockingly.

"So are you giving up? Did you realize you couldn't escape us?" another asked.

Naruto's clone jumped down from the tree and stood next to Jio's clone.

"No we're just here to give you guys some fun."

With that said, Jio and Naruto's clones reached into their pouches and threw all the Kunai they had at the enemy nins. The Sound nin retaliated by throwing stars, but that's when they received their first surprise. The kunai exploded.

"Watch out! They have exploding tags on them!" one of the Sound nin yelled.

Between all that commotion, Jio and Naruto's clones charged into battle. They engaged several of the Sound nin with carefully executed taijutsu attacks. After all, they needed to last as long as possible in order to give the real copies enough time to get further away.

"Damn you kids!" one of the Sound nin yelled.

He managed to grab Naruto's clone and kick him in the air.

"Get this kid!" the Sound nin yelled into the trees.

Sure enough, his call was responded as throwing stars were imbedded into Naruto's clone. Soon enough, Jio's clone suffered the same fate. That's when the Sound nin got their second surprise. The two clones then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"What the hell!" a Sound nin yelled.

"They're clones!"

No sooner had he said that, two more popped out and began another assault. Though confused at the turn of events, the Sound nin continued to fight back. By the time the fourth pair of clones came out, they were starting to realize that this had been a set up.

"When we catch up to those kids, they're gonna wish they'd never been born!"

"I wouldn't bet on that." Naruto's clone said.

"I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you." Jio's clone added with a smile.

Just as the clones were about to be annihilated, the Sound nins third surprise appeared. Asuma stood in front of them with a dead Sound nin under his arm.

"Well I'm glad to see reinforcements did arrive." Jio's clone said.

Asuma tossed the dead shinobi aside and took down the remaining Sound nin. He then tossed his cigarette to the ground.

"You guys better come back from this mission in one piece." he told the clones before they poofed out of existence. He smiled before looking back towards the village. A frown adorned his face.

_'I have a bad feeling about what's going to happen.'_

---------------------------------

"Looks like the pursuers stopped moving." Pakkun informed them.

Naruto and Jio smiled to each other. Their clones had just disappeared and they had just received Asuma's message.

"The enemy's were taken care of by Asuma. I think we're in the clear." Jio said. "Once we get Sasuke, we're heading back immediately. I've had this bad feeling ever since Hokage-sama began fighting Orochimaru."

"Are you worried he won't win?" Sakura asked.

Jio nodded. "Although Hokage-sama is no push over, I still can't shake this feeling. Orochimaru...even I'm not sure at what kind of level he is..."

Naruto grunted. "That Old man won't loose. He's tougher than he looks. So quite worrying will ya."

Jio let a small smile appear. "Yeah I guess so."

---------------------------------------

Back at the village, Shikamaru and his two companions were making their way through their battle ridden village. Kaze had just taken out a few Sound and Sand nins that were attempting to harm civilians.

"Shit, we're never gonna get to the school at this rate." Shikamaru said.

"Well it ain't a walk in the park kid. There's enemy nins everywhere." Kaze said.

"Plus it's hard to attack when there's also Konoha nins in the fray. We gotta be careful when we attack." Kazu added.

"So you guys could take out all the Sound and Sand nin in the area if there were no obstacles?" Ino asked.

"Of course!" Kaze answered.

"We're the sons of the mighty..."

"Look out!" Choji yelled.

The two wolves stopped their bragging and snapped their mighty jaws down upon their unfortunate prey.

"Teh, well it's gonna be impossible to clear out every Konoha shinobi from our path."

"So what are we going to do?" Ino said.

"Have no fear kids!"

The three of them turned their attention towards the the rooftops where three familiar figures stood.

Shiki smirked down at his son. "So they can destroy anything in their path?"

"You better believe it!" Kaze shouted.

"Well if that's the case..." Inoichi said.

Suddenly, clones covered the roof tops.

"We'll pass the word." Choza said.

With that the clones speed down the street that lead to the academy. Ino and Choji looked confused, but Shikamaru immediately caught on to what was going on.

"Heh, that's a pretty good idea."

"What are you talking about Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"From here there is really only one direct path to take to the academy. So we're going to take this path and along the way, the Konoha shinobi will clear out leaving the Sound and Sand shinobi to deal with our furry friends."

The two wolves grumbled about being referred to as 'furry friends'. Choza returned to their area with a smile.

"It's all set kids. Be careful."

Kazu looked at the Akimichi. "There are four others that are attempting to help through out your village. Find them if you should require assistance."

Choza nodded.

"Hang on tight." Shikamaru told Ino and Choji. "Now show us what you can do." he told Kaze and Kazu.

The two wolves stood next to each other and then took off down the street. Along the way, Sound and Sand shinobi were either thrown or being held in their place by Konoha shinobi, however, once they saw the wolves approaching, they quickly left their opponents to the wolves. Once they disappeared Kaze and Kazu jumped into the air and swiped down their paws. A gust of wind erupted from their attack and ripped through the enemy. The wolves landed and continued their paced run to the academy. Shiki, Inoichi and Choza smiled. Their kids were growing up. They told other shinobi to spread the word about the other wolves in the village and they went back to work.

Shikamaru was impressed with the wind attacks of the wolves. The attacks were precise and hardly did any damage to the surrounding buildings. With this cleared path, they definitely had an easier time making it to the academy. Before they knew it, they reached their destination. A number of civilians and students were trying to make their way to the academy to be lead to a safer location. A lot of the people stopped and looked in fear of the giant wolves. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji jumped off and began to work crowd control.

"Don't be afraid! They're here to help!" Ino told people as she directed them towards the academy gym.

"Just keep moving and you'll be in a safer place soon." Choji added.

Suddenly a kid pushed through the crowd and attempted to run towards the village. Shikamaru put a stop to his plans.

"What are you thinking kid. It's dangerous to go out there. There's enemy nin everywhere."

"My mommy is in the hospital and couldn't come with us! Then that big snake thing appeared in that area and I don't know if she's alive! I gotta save her!" he said trying to wrestle out of Shikamaru's grasp.

"Don't be stupid! Do you think you could save her from that giant snake!"

"I don't see you guys trying to save anyone!"

Shikamaru frowned and tossed the kid towards the ground. He turned his back to him.

"Teh, what do you think I was doing right now? I'm trying to save you from yourself." He frowned at what he was about to say next. "Feh, if you're that worried I'll go to the hospital and protect it."

"What? Shikamaru are you insane!" Ino shouted.

Shikamaru looked at her. "Teh, this is so troublesome, but if I don't go then this kid will try to escape again. You and Choji will be fine. Plus you got Kazu with you and other Chunin around. You'll be able to hold you're own here."

"Don't worry about him Ino." Choji said. "Shikamaru knows what he's doing. Trust him."

"But, this is so unlike you. What changed?" Ino probed.

Shikamaru jumped on Kaze and looked in the direction of the hospital. "Teh, I guess those two guys are rubbing off on me."

He left with Kaze before Ino could question him about his statement. Choji smiled at his friend. Maybe Shikamaru was already a better shinobi then they were.

------------------------------------------

"There seems to be more than one person chasing Sasuke." Pakkun piped up.

"What? Is it enemy nins?" Naruto questioned.

"I don't know, only...it's not human!"

**'It's probably Shukaku.'** Kyubi informed Naruto.

_'Is he still in his human form?'_

**'As far as I can tell, yes, but Shukaku's chakra keeps spiking. It's only a matter of time before he loses himself.'**

"There's no use worrying about who else is after him until we get to them." Jio said. "Lets just focus on catching up."

The two Genin nodded as Pakkun made another turn.

"He's moving again." he informed them.

_'Will we make it before Shukaku takes over? If we don't then...Shit Temari is with him too! He won't hesitate to kill anyone, including her.' _ Jio frowned. _'Damn it...'_

-----------------------------------------------

Shikamaru made it to the hospital with out much trouble. Most of the enemy must have been trying to avoid the wolf once word got around. There they met another one of the wolves Jio had summoned.

"Kaze, what are you doing here?" the other wolf asked.

"Nothing much Nia, just brought this kid to check out the situation here."

"Have you been keeping guard over the hospital?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, so far everyone seems to be okay. You're welcome to take a look around." Nia answered.

"If things are fine then I'm going to go around and help out some more." Kaze said.

"Sure. Thanks for the help." Shikamaru said as Kaze jumped away towards other areas.

Just when he was about to relax, Shikamaru heard a scream coming from the hospital.

_'Shit, did they get in?'_

"Damn, looks like we're going to need to check out the situation." Nia said.

Shikamaru was about to ask how she planned to do that, but was silenced when Nia suddenly shrunk to the size of about a great dane.

"Well let's go." Shikamaru then proceeded to run into the hospital lobby.

--------------------------------------------

"Hey, Sasuke stopped moving." Pakkun informed them.

"Well then, you guys ready?" Jio asked.

Sakura and Naruto nodded. Although, they certainly weren't ready for the sight that greeted them. Sasuke was backed up against a tree with a partially transformed Gaara ready to strike him down. Naruto wasted no time and quickly acted. He kicked Gaara away from Sasuke but Gaara recovered quickly. He looked hungrily at Naruto and Jio. Jio looked over at Sasuke. He took notice of the marks on Sasuke's body.

_'Is that the from the curse mark? Hmm, it will have to be dealt with later our main problem now is...'_

"Look out guys!"

Jio had no time to react as Gaara went to kill Sasuke. Sakura, without thinking, stood in front of Sasuke with a kunai in hand.

"Sakura-chan!"

"NO!"

Gaara then slammed his giant claw into her and pinned her to one of the near by trees. Jio didn't even think about his next move as he quickly grabbed his boomerang and poured his chakra into it. He used Zero-shiki to cut the sand arm in half. Naruto also took this time to move Sasuke away from Gaara.

"Jio, how's Sakura-chan!"

Jio examined her while Gaara seemed to be struggling with himself. He was frustrated that the sand arm had not disappeared. Unfortunately, it seemed Sakura was going to be pinned to the tree until Gaara let her go.

"She seems okay. Just knocked out."

"W-why?" Gaara asked.

"Naruto, looks like we have no choice."

Naruto put Sasuke down and stood up straight.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say so."

"What do they mean to you?" Gaara asked. He seemed to have regained himself. His arm reformed.

"They're my friends! I won't let you harm them anymore than you already have!" Naruto exclaimed.

Jio and Naruto both attacked. Gaara used Shukaku's tail to fend off Naruto while, the arm was used to defend against Jio. Using Zero-shiki, Jio was able to cut through the arm and landed a solid kick to Gaara, sending him farther from them. Naruto landed next to Jio as they watched Gaara from afar.

"He changed again." Naruto noted.

"Damn it. He'll just keep changing until he reaches his final form. If that happens, everyone will be in danger."

Suddenly, Gaara released a mighty growl.

"Suna Shuriken!"

"Naruto!"

Naruto backed off as Jio formed his hand signs. A solid wall of rock rose from the ground and created a shield between Jio and Gaara's Sand Shuriken. Once the attack stopped, Naruto quickly created Kage Bunshin and attacked Gaara head on. At this point Gaara was almost fully transformed. Naruto's mass attack was cut short as Gaara used Mugen Sajin Daitoppa (Eternal Sand Blast). Naruto did not give up and created more to continue his attack. He wrapped a kunai in an explosive tag and handed it to one of his clones. As Gaara continued to destroy his clones, Naruto created more and finally, he was able to get his clone within detonation range.

"Eat this!"

------------------------------

While Naruto handled Gaara, Jio made his way to Temari. He had been really worried about her ever since she had taken off with Gaara.

"You okay?" he asked as he kneeled next to her.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about your brother."

"Can't stop me from worrying about you."

"You're hopeless."

"I guess...Listen, Naruto and I will deal with Gaara. Once he's turned back to normal, take him and leave."

"Wouldn't that be going against you're mission?"

"My only mission is to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke."

"Thanks...I guess."

"Don't be giving you're thanks to me just yet." an explosion then shook the forest. "You'll need to give that to someone else."

--------------------------------

Naruto went flying out of the explosion. Although he managed to get Gaara, he was also stuck by the sand tail. Sasuke, some how, managed to catch Naruto before he crashed into a tree.

"Heh, even after all that effort, you still only managed to hit him once." Sasuke panted.

Naruto stood up again. He wiped some blood from his lips.

"He's not your ordinary opponent." Naruto answered.

"I can see that." Sasuke said with a smirk, which fadedly quickly. "Naruto, take Sakura and run to a safe place. I'll hold him here for awhile. I once lost everything...So now I don't want to see my most cherished companions die in front of me again."

_'Sasuke...'_

"There isn't a need for you to give up your life like this." Jio suddenly said as he joined the two shinobi. "Especially not when you've come to realize that you have important people in you're life."

"He's right." Naruto added. "We're going to show him..."

"That fighting for one's self is not where true strength comes from." Jio finished.

Naruto turned to Gaara and created his hand sign. Kyubi's chakra began to pour out of Naruto. Sensing this, Gaara quickly attacked the blond shinobi. Jio, however, was not about to let him interfere. Using four clones, he bombarded Gaara with kick and punches until he finally manages to send him flying into the air. Naruto created 20 clones that proceeded to pound Gaara with a barrage of throwing stars. The original Naruto then poured chakra into the bone necklace and the ring on his finger.

_'What in the...' _ Jio thought as he witnesses Naruto handle two O-Part effects at the same time. _'Is it even possible for him to pull something like that off? At his level?'_

The clones then kicked Gaara towards the original Naruto. Naruto pulled back his fist. With the added effect of wind, he was able to rush at Gaara with enough speed and force to punch him through several trees and into the ground.

Temari looked in awe of Naruto's display. She looked over at Jio who had an equally astounded expression, except a smile adorned his face. Is this why he hadn't been as worried about him?

"I WON'T LOSE!" Gaara roared form the ground.

Temari's attention was brought back to her brother. _'It can't be. Has it finally come?'_

**'Looks like it's time.'**Houkou said.

_'I was afraid of this.'_ Jio said. Then he looked at Naruto. _'But for some reason, I'm not too worried about it.'_

Naruto looked up at the fully formed Shukaku without fear.

_'Time to show him who's boss!'_ Naruto said to Kyubi.

**'Ready when you are kit.'**

Naruto smirked. "Summoning No Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, the mighty Gamabunta appeared with Naruto standing on his head. Ready for battle.

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AN: And that's chapter 10. Next time, the invasion ends and tragedy befalls the Village of Konoha. Please review and no flames. Later!


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Another chapter done and a lot more to go. Thanks to all who reviewed. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

You'll find some Jutsu's listed at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666 Satan (O-Parts Hunter).

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Ch 11

Gamabunta looked mildly surprised that he had been once again summoned by Naruto. He turned his attention to the fully transformed Gaara.

_'If I'm not mistaken...That's Shukaku of the Sand.'_

"Boss-Gama! Come fight together with me! I ask you this Boss!"

"No." was his simple reply.

"Eh?!" Both Naruto and Jio exclaimed. Perhaps the Toad Boss wasn't in a good mood.

"You said you'd make me you're underling! I mean, aren't we suppose to help each other out?!" Naruto asked frantically.

"I said you could be my underling, but we haven't exchanged Sakazuki yet."

"Impossible! I'm not old enough to drink!" Naruto exclaimed.

Jio sweat dropped. There was no way he could summon Zero to their location as he was. Summoning the entire wolf pack had taken a lot out of him. It would be a good idea for him to sway Gamabunta, otherwise they would be in big trouble. Jio turned to Sasuke.

"Can you move?"

Sasuke struggled slightly, but he managed to stand and nodded.

"Okay listen up, I'm going to help Naruto defeat Gaara so I need you to look after Sakura. Once she is released, take her to the ground and wait for us. We'll head back to the village once he's defeated. Got it?"

"Yeah."

Jio hurriedly jumped towards the giant toad's head. He landed by Naruto and looked at the Toad Boss.

"Please help us Gamabunta. The faster we can defeat this guy, the faster we can return to the village and help fight off the invaders."

"The village is being invaded?" Gamabunta asked surprised.

"Yeah, by Sand and Sound Shinobi." Naruto answered.

Gamabunta looked thoughtfully at the two boys. "Well, I did make the kid my underling and Jio and I have exchanged Sakazuki..."

Naruto looked at Jio surprised. "You drink?"

"It was the one time!" Jio answered defensively.

"Let's take care of this guy!" Gamabunta exclaimed as he unsheathed his giant Yakuza sword.

Naruto and Jio got into a fighting stance. "Yeah!"

As Gamabunta charged ahead, Naruto and Jio used some Chakra to stick to Gamabunta's head.

"Gamadosuzan!" Gamabunta yelled as he attempted to cut Shukaku in half. However, Shukaku wasn't about to let the toad to what he wanted. Just as Gamabunta pierced him with his blade, he smacked the giant toad away. Although he still lost an arm in the process. The earth trembled as Gamabunta crashed back to the ground. Gamabunta's mighty sword flew towards the area that Sasuke and the others were. Jio and Naruto both realized that if they kept this up, their friends would end up getting hurt. Or worse...

"Hey Boss! Sakura-chan is over there!" Naruto exclaimed.

"So is Temari." Jio added.

"We can't fight over there! Lure him over here!" Naruto continued.

"Who're they?" he asked the boys.

Jio and Naruto both blushed as they responded. "Friends."

Gamabunta smirked. "Fine."

"Interesting! So interesting! Uzumaki Naruto and Jio!"

Suddenly, something began to emerge from Shukaku's head. Jio and Naruto recognized the figure as Gaara. Temari realized what Gaara was about to do and quickly tried to put some distance between herself and the giant Tanuki.

"Thank you for letting me fully experience this happiness, allow me to show you the real power of this form."

"This isn't good." Jio said.

"No it's not." Gamabunta agreed. "Because that Reibai is possessed by Shukaku he's showing signs of insomnia. Look at how black his eye sockets are."

Naruto turned to Jio. "Insomnia?"

Jio nodded. "A person being possessed by the Raccoon spirit 'Shukaku', will not be able to have one night of decent sleep because it's too frightening."

Gamabunta continued. "If he falls asleep, his consciousness will slowly be invaded and finally lose his whole self! But normally, when the Reibai's awake, Shukaku's powers will be suppressed, but when the Reibai let's himself fall asleep.."

"Tanuki Nei No Jutsu!" Gaara's body suddenly slumped forward and Shukaku began to laugh hysterically.

_**"I can finally come out! and I already found someone I want to kill! FUUTON..."**_

"I'm gonna jump!" Gamabunta warned the boys.

_**"Renkudan!"**_

Shukaku punched his stomach and opened his mouth to release a ball of wind mixed with chakra. While in the air, Gamabunta used Suiton Tepoudama in order to prevent Shukaku from hitting them with the Fuuton Renkudan again. However, one of the balls of wind got through and hit the giant toad dead on.

_**"Gyahaha! Alright, I killed them, I killed them!"**_

Shukaku stopped laughing when he realized that his opponent was still alive.

"That hurt! How dare you hit me with a ball that's filled with that much chakra!" Gamabunta looked that he two boys. "I can't take anymore hits from his attack! We need some kind of plan!"

Jio looked at the giant tanuki. It was now or never.

"Naruto, Gamabunta and I will try to keep him still. You wake up Gaara somehow and that will make Shukaku disappear."

"What are you gonna do?"

Jio smirked. "Transform Gamabunta into something with fangs."

"Alright, lets do it!"

"Here we go kid!"

Jio formed the seals. "Henge!"

In a puff of smoke, Gamabunta was transformed into a giant fox. He wasted no time and quickly restrained Shukaku.

"Go Naruto!" Jio exclaimed.

Naruto quickly charged at the slumped formed of Gaara.

"Wake up you Bastard!" he yelled as he punched the red head.

Gaara's head flew back from the force of the impact. The red head was finally awake, but the giant Tanuki wasn't disappearing. Naruto once again charged Gaara, but was stopped when sand encompassed his feet. Sand then quickly flew towards Naruto.

"Use the ring!" Jio exclaimed.

Naruto did as he was told and poured the Kyubi's chakra into the ring. Just as Jio had said, he was able to form a small tornado around himself that blew away the sand at his feet and what was flying towards him.

Jio was having problems as well, he had had no choice but to drop the henge once Shukaku began to push them towards the area the others were in. If he wanted to fight off Shukaku with Gamabunta, he needed Gamabunta to be in his normal form. Otherwise there was no way he would be able to sustain the henge and the next move he was about to make.

"Hey Gamabunta, we need to move this guy away from here."

"I know. Want to use that technique?"

Jio smirked. "We got no choice, but we better do this right because it will take up most of my chakra."

"Well lets not waste anymore time."

_'I'm going to need some chakra Houkou.'_

**'Take what you need pup.'**

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Naruto turned slightly to see that Jio had made a copy of Gamabunta. With the help of the clone, the toads pushed Shukaku away from the area they were trying to protect. Naruto caught a glimpse of Jio. He must have used a lot of chakra for him to look that tired. Naruto knew he needed to finish this quickly. Otherwise their efforts up till then would be in vain.

"You will be killed by me. My existence will not disappear." Gaara told him.

Naruto turned to face the red head with determination. He was not going to lose. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

_'I just need a little more...Let me have the amount to protect everyone.'_

**'Be careful with it kit.'**Naruto heard Kyubi say as Kyubi released more chakra to him. The sudden release was so great that Naruto's headband came flying off his head. With the chakra encompassing him, he charged at the red head again. Just as he had reached Gaara, sand enveloped his fist and legs. However that did nothing to stop Naruto as he, instead, head butted the red head.

It was then that Shukaku began to dissolve. Jio was finally able to let the clone disappear and he let out a sigh of relief. His relief was momentary since he soon realized that Gaara and Naruto were both too drained of chakra to keep themselves from crashing into the ground. Jio was about to ask for Gamabunta's help when he noticed the toad was nodding off.

"Sorry Jio, but it seems I'm at my limit." with that, Gamabunta disappeared.

"Shit." Jio soon found himself also crashing to the forest floor with Naruto and Gaara.

The three boys landed in the vicinity of Gamabunta's giant sword. Somehow, Jio and Naruto managed to stay on top of the trees as did Gaara. The Uzumaki brothers faced Gaara. The three of them were almost at their limit.

"In this state, the most we'll be able to do is throw punches." Jio told them.

"We are very much alike." Gaara said. "You two house monsters similar to mine."

Jio and Naruto smirked. "We may be alike in that aspect..."

"But we're nothing like you." Naruto finished. "Lets end this."

"Can you do it Naruto?" Jio asked.

"I have enough left in me for one more." Naruto answered as he leapt from the tree and towards Gaara. The two shinobi clashed in the air and ended with Gaara plummeting to the ground.

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Meanwhile, Shikamaru was helping the medic nins fight off a sudden wave of sound nins. It was definitely a lot easier with Nia there to help since she was the one delivering the killing blows. It hadn't crossed his mind until now, but this entire time, he had yet to kill anyone, which he was some what grateful for.

Once they had cleared the lobby they headed to the other floors. The medic nin split up at each floor and soon Shikamaru found himself on the last floor with Nia. It was then his mind drifted to the fight back at the stadium. Naruto had killed many enemy nins with his help. He wondered whether the blond realized what he did or if it was just what had happened at the heat of the moment. He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about such troublesome things. He and Nia stepped out into the halls of the floor and were soon attacked by the enemy nin.

His eyebrows furrowed as he stopped some nin with his jutsu. Why attack a hospital? Then again, during an invasion, it didn't matter who or what go destroyed. That included civilians.

"Get ready." Nia told him.

Shikamaru released the enemy's just as Nia finished them off. They both took to one side of the hallway and fought through the Sound shinobi that came out of some of the rooms. Shikamaru tried his best to just knock them out while Nia finished them off as quickly as she could. When they got to the end of the hall, they each kicked open the remaining doors.

In the room, Shikamaru found a Sound nin that had just killed off a Konoha medic nin. Shikamaru was about to ask Nia for her help when he realized that she was too busy taking care of the enemies on her side of the room. It was then he realized he had to make a decision. Fast. The Shinobi noticed Shikamaru standing in the door way, but did not attempt to engage him. Apparently he didn't view Shikamaru as much of a threat. Instead he turned to the person occupying the bed in the room. A pregnant women.

She was going into labor. Shikamaru could tell that much and this guy was going to kill her. If he attempted to use his Kagemane no Jutsu it would more than likely fail on him since he'd been using it for a while now. He was surprised that it had been working for him thus far, however with the amount of chakra he had left, he doubted he'd be able to do much. He quickly glanced at Nia and realized she was almost done taking care of business. If he could just hold off this guy for a few more seconds, they'd be able to save this women and her unborn child.

He had one shot. If he could just muster up all his remaining chakra, he could hold the bastard long enough for Nia to take care of him. The down side was he could probably die of chakra exhaustion.

_'Why do I get into such troublesome situations?'_

He smirked and reached for his throwing stars. He launched a wave of two at a time with a few second of delay in between throws. He wasn't in any hurry to die, so if he could just bind him for ten seconds, it would be enough and he would have enough chakra for him to live. Once he was out of stars, the Sound nin charged at Shikamaru who quickly captured the enemy. He counted off the seconds he could safely use Kagemane no Jutsu and just as he reached one, Nia jumped over Shikamaru and ripped out the sound nins throat. Shikamaru slumped to the ground in exhaustion.

"You did well." Nia told him. "You did not have to kill anyone in todays battles. For a young Shinobi like you, that is okay for now. Soon however, you will be faced with the decision of taking a life. Until that day come, enjoy the happy days you have."

"Thanks, I guess."

Shikamaru wanted to rest, but he suddenly remembered that the woman in the room was going into labor and he was the only one around. He looked at Nia for help, but the wolf instead rushed out of the room. Shikamaru seriously hoped she left to get help. He sighed. Why did he get into such troublesome situations?

--------------------------------

Jio caught Naruto just before he hit the ground. Gaara now laid on the ground, no longer able to move. The red head looked at the two brothers with slight confusion. Why were they going so far? Why were they so strong? He clenched his teeth.

"MY existence will never be extinguished. It won't be extinguished. There is no way that I would let it disappear!"

"Jio." Naruto whispered. "Take me closer to him."

Jio nodded and slung Naruto's arm over his shoulder as he moved closer to Gaara. The red head seemed to panic at this.

"Do-Don't come any closer!"

Jio stopped a few feet away from Gaara. Naruto looked sadly at the red head.

"The pain of being alone...is not an easy one to bear...your feelings...I can understand your pain."

Gaara's eyes widened at Naruto's remark.

"But...I already have many people who are important to me now...I won't let you hurt those important people to me. Even if you try to kill them, I will stop you."

"Why?" asked a confused Gaara. "Why do you go so far for other people's sake."

"They saved me from the hell of being alone. They acknowledged my existence. That's why they're all important to me."

Gaara seemed to realize something at that moment. "Love..."

"Gaara." Jio said. "The kind of hell you experienced is typically what Jinchūriki go through, however, you don't have to be alone in this world anymore. I, and especially Naruto, know what you went through. If you're willing Gaara, we can help you ease some of that pain. I'm sure your sibilings wouldn't mind either."

"So what do you say Raccoon eyes? Wanna be friends?" Naruto asked with his typical fox grin.

If possible, Gaara looked for confused than before. "Friends?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Jio said with a smile. "We Jinchūriki have to stick together."

Gaara had no idea how to reply. Just what kind of people were Naruto and Jio? He didn't have to worry about a reply since at that moment, Temari and Kankuro landed in front of Gaara. Jio smirked at Temari.

"Nice to see you're alive." He looked at Kankuro. "Same to you."

"It's over." Gaara told his siblings. Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara with worry. No one had ever beaten him up so badly. The siblings looked over at Jio and Naruto.

"I won't stop you if that's what you're worried about. My mission was to retrieve Sasuke and take him to a safe place. I was never told to capture any enemies." Jio informed them. He turned around and waved them off. "Have a safe trip home."

"Thank you." he heard Temari whisper. He was pretty sure she said it quiet enough that only she could hear it, but having enhanced senses really did come in handy sometimes.

Kankuro slung Gaara's arm over his shoulder and then took off with Temari. Gaara looked pensively at the blurry scenery.

_'Someday, even I will...'_

"Temari...Kankuro."

Both siblings looked at their brother.

"I'm sorry."

They looked at each other in shock.

"It's...It's alright." Kankuro managed to answer.

---------------------------------

Jio returned to Sasuke's location with an unconscious Naruto. After assuring the young Uchiha that Naruto was going to be okay, they headed back to the village. It was eerily calm as they made their way towards the safe spot where most of the civilians were taken. Once there, Jio left Naruto and the other genins in the care of Iruka. He made especially sure that Naruto was treated before he set off to take a look around the stadium. Along the way, he met up with Zero who informed him of Jiraiya's return. Zero insisted on giving Jio a lift to the stadium seeing as he was still pretty fatigued from the fight with Gaara. Jio relented and soon arrived at the stadium. He made his way up to the tower and noticed the amount of shinobi gathered. There was a feeling of extreme apprehension as he moved closer. He quickly took note of Jiraiya and jogged towards him.

"Sensei, what hap..."

His words died when his eyes fell upon the prone figure of the Third Hokage.

_'N-No way...'_

Jio looked up at his Sensei for some sort of explanation, but all he received was a solemn look by the Legendary Sannin. He once again turned to the figure laying on the ground. He bowed his head along with the rest of the Konoha Shinobi gathered. The Third Hokage was dead.

---------------------------------

Jio stared up at the pouring heavens with dull eyes. Naruto sat next to him looking sadly at the grass on their lawn. Today was the Thirds funeral. It almost seemed like it was a dream. Like the last two days were nothing but a bad dream. Today, however, the bitter realization that their beloved leader and grandfather figure was really gone, hit them hard. The Third had done all he could to make their lives normal. Comfortable. Happy. Everything they had in their youth, they had him to thank for. Had he not stood up for them, who knew where they'd be. Dead probably. Both were jolted out of their thoughts as Jiraiya walked out of their house. No one said a word. Jio and Naruto stood up and followed Jiraiya towards the funeral.

Once there, Naruto joined his team while Jio and Jiraiya took a different spot. Naruto looked sadly at Konohamaru as he wept for his grandfather. Truthfully, the Old man had been a grandfather to all of them. In one way or another, he touched their lives and showed them what a Konoha shinobi should be like. As the ceremony drew to a close, each shinobi was allowed to pass by the casket and place a flower on the coffin. As each of the rookie nine passed, they remembered instances when the Hokage had joined them in some of their everyday activities. From visiting the kunoichi class during flower arrangements, to eating ramen at Ichiraku's. No activity was considered beneath him.

As Naruto passed by and placed the flower on the coffin, he felt his eyes begin to water. The Old man had not just been merely a beloved leader. No, to him he had been part of his family. When the council wanted him dead, he saved his life. When he and Jio were treated badly at the orphanage, he got them out and gave them a place of their own. When Jio left, he tried his best to make time to spend with him. He had tried his best to make Naruto feel like a normal person because he treated Naruto like a person. For this, he could never thank him enough. Naruto scrunched his eyes shut and walked on towards his team mates. He resisted the urge to cry at the ceremony. A shinobi showed no emotional weakness.

As Jio had his turn he too found memories of the Third pouring through his mind. The Third had done a lot for Naruto and him. More than anyone in the entire village. Now here he was, gone. The only other person he would ever consider family, dead. He gently placed the flower among the others and looked at the picture of the Third.

_'Thank you.'_

For him, those two words could not express how grateful he was. The Third had done so much for Naruto and him that being grateful was not enough to show his appreciation. In his heart, he knew there was no way he could ever repay the kindness he had shown Naruto and him, however, he would find way. He would find a way to show him that his death was not in vain. That everything he did for them would not be wasted. He would find a way. Some how. He continued to walk on. Curiously, he felt his eyes begin to sting with unshed tears.

---------------------------------------------

Both Naruto and Jio took flight to the Hokage monument right after the funeral. Sakura and the other genin looked worriedly after the two brothers. Both had seemed a little too eager to leave. Sakura turned to Jiraiya, who had remained behind.

"Should we go after them?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "We'll give them a few minutes before we look for them."

Meanwhile, Jio and Naruto both sat over Sarutobi's head. Naruto rested his arms on his knees and placed his forehead on them. Jio laid on his back with an arm over his eyes. Finally, they let their unshed tears fall. They wept for the loss of the first person to ever treat them like human beings. Neither knew how long they'd wept. Nor did they care. Jiraiya went to look for them after waiting for a few minutes. The others wanted to accompany him, but he told them to be patient and wait for him to bring them back. He had a feeling the boys would not want the Konoha nin to see them in their weakest state. As he approached them, he watched with sadness at the grief they suffered. However, he also felt some relief to see them showing emotions. They had not lost that which made them human, unlike some Shinobi.

He slowly walked towards them and took a seat between them. Finally they both seemed to have cried themselves out and both just remained in their positions.

"Let's go home." Jiraiya finally said.

The boys said nothing and stood up. As they walked back to the others, they both glanced at Jiraiya.

"Thanks." they said in unison.

Jiraiya smiled. "There is nothing wrong with grieving for the loss of someone precious. The fools who wrote the shinobi laws should have been aware of this."

Naruto and Jio couldn't agree more. They returned to the other Konoha nin looking like nothing happened. The other genin asked the Uzumaki brothers whether everything was okay. Naruto grinned and said everything was fine. Jio did much the same except he only nodded. As they conversed with the other Genin, they were informed of Shikamaru's adventure. He had helped deliver a baby amidst the chaos of the invasion. Jio couldn't help but smile after hearing that. Although death had surrounded them that day, hope for new life was also born. As they walked back home, both boys made a silent promise. They would protect this village with all the strength they had. This place that meant so much to the Third and the people they had come to care about.

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AN: And that's the end of that chapter. Hopefully I'll get a new chapter out sooner. Remember to review and no flames.

Reibai- Possessed person/ host

Gamadosuzan- Toad Sword Beheading

Tanuki Nei No Jutsu- Feigning Sleep Technique

Suiton Tepoudama- Water Release: Gunshot

Fūton: Renkūdan- Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet


	12. Chapter 12

(peeks around)

Hi...yeah. It's been awhile hasn't it? I do apologize for the extremely long delay. Life happened and sometimes that throws a major wrench into everything. I'm back now though and ready to continue this story. I hate leaving stories unfinished after all. I thank you all for your patience. Now without further delay, here is the next chapter.

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Ch 12

Jiraiya stood on the roof of a building not too far from the bath house. It was almost a week after the Third's funeral and life was slowly returning to normal. Everyone was doing their part to help restore the village from the failed invasion. Jiraiya snorted at that. Although the council had declared that the invasion had failed, many could not see it at such considering their Hokage had been killed and half their village destroyed. The only thing the invasion had failed to do was completely annihilate the remainder of the village. Even with this gloomy thought in everyone's mind, they moved forward. Jiraiya was startled out of his thoughts by a voice.

"I see you still haven't given up on foolish things."

Jiraiya couldn't help but frown at the voice. He had hoped to have a nice peaceful day of peeping so he could finally work on the next Icha Icha Paradise. Training the Uzumaki brothers was a full time job and he was finding himself with less time to do his research. He found it kind of odd that he didn't mind so much. Raising the boys was becoming an unexpected pleasure. He shook his head to clear his thoughts before addressing his visitors.

"Homura Otchan. Koharu-sensei. What business do the committee advisers have with me?"

"Perhaps we should talk in a more suitable location." Koharu suggested.

Jiraiya sighed and put his binoculars away. There went his peaceful day of research.

"Fine." he consented.

They took off towards the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya knew this was going to be a conversation he was not going to enjoy.

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Naruto walked through the village with Sasuke and Sakura. Today they had been assigned a D-rank mission to help clean up the market part of the village. Kakashi was not with them for this mission. The rebuilding was taking up a lot of the villages resources. All available ninja were being sent out to complete as many missions as possible. Even Jio was out completing a C ranked missions. Naruto looked up at the sky. Jio would actually be back from his last mission sometime later in the day. The council did not want to send Jio outside the village but with the back log of missions, they had no choice. Naruto frowned at the thought. With the Third Hokage gone, he was worried that the village council would try something towards them but Jiraiya assured him nothing would happen. As much as the Council hated to admit it, Naruto and Jio were of value to the village. It would only be a matter of time before word got out that they had two powerful Jinchūrikis in their ranks.

Naruto felt relieved at the thought. The fact that the Council had even considered using him for anything was an improvement over their usual animosity. He glanced over to his right, Sakura was being a little nicer to him since the invasion. It made him happy that she was being more considerate of his feelings. She use to just shun his every attempt at a date or any form of friendship. He smiled slightly. It really did make him feel very happy. Perhaps he would ask her on a date again. He hadn't asked in awhile. He shook the thought from his head. Like that would be any different than any other time. She'd just reject him a little more nicely, but a rejection, no matter in what form, still hurt. He needed to move on.

"Sasuke-kun, would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

"No."

Naruto glanced to his left at Sasuke causing him to frown. A lot happened since the invasion but Sasuke seemed to have changed the least. He was still his usual broody self although he was not as mean as he use to be towards Sakura or himself. Still, there was something else going on with him that he couldn't place. He wished they would tell him. He could tell Sakura knew something and he had no doubt that Kakashi was in on it.

_'I'm not the idiot they think I am'_ He thought sadly.

_**'Well you have been acting like an idiot for most of your life.'**_

_'Thanks a lot Kyubi. Your great at cheering people up.'_

_**'Just stating a fact kit.'**_

Naruto sighed but conceded this fact to his tenant. That was going to change thought. He was done being the village idiot. Spending all that time with his brother and Jiraiya made him realize that he wanted and was capable of so much more. He was going to start by showing his peers his true self. Shikamaru already caught a glimpse of who Naruto truly was. He'd even asked him to stop pretending in front of him. Naruto had happily obliged. Shikamaru wasn't a genius for nothing.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing around here?"

Speak of the devil.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran towards his friend. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other confused. Since when had they become friends?

"We're here to help with the clean up in this district. What about you?"

"Same here."

"YO!" someone else yelled.

Team 7 and Shikamaru looked to see Kiba and the rest of his team jogging towards them. Naruto noticed Hinata blush when she snuck a peek at him. He did his best to keep a blush from spreading across his own cheeks. After much hinting from Jio, he finally took notice of the Hyuga heiresses affection towards him. He had decided not to do anything about it for the moment since he was still trying to move past his crush on Sakura.

"You guys helping with the clean up here too?" Kiba asked.

"Seems like it." Shikamaru responded.

"I see everyone is here."

The genins turned towards the speaker. It was Inoichi Yamanaka. He walked towards the group of genin with his daughter and Choji.

"Well then we better get started. There's a lot of work ahead of us if we want to get this district back to normal."

"Lets get started!" Kiba exclaimed.

The genins all nodded and gathered around Ino's dad. Truth be told, they were all rather surprised that Naruto was being really quite. Shikamaru smirked at the confused genins. During any time off he had, he would visit the Uzumaki's and Jiraiya's home. He mainly did it because it was one of the places Ino wouldn't look for him when he wanted to cloud gaze, but also because he had come to enjoy the Uzumaki's company. He enjoyed the conversations they had and it was nice to be able to play Go and Shougi someone other than Asuma.

"Alright kids, your going to break up in pairs and we'll tackle our first section. We got 3 other sections in all so lets try to get through as much as possible. All you'll be doing is cleaning up the rubble and debris from the area so that the carpenters can get to the buildings that need rebuilding."

"Right!" they exclaimed.

"Good, pick your partners then and I'll assign you the areas that need to be cleaned up."

Everyone's choice of partners was not that big of a surprise. Sakura and Ino immediately began to bicker over who would partner up with Sasuke, while Hinata was attempting to bring herself to ask Naruto to be her partner. Shikamaru and Choji partnered up while Kiba asked the stuttering Hinata.

"Why don't you just partner up with Naruto! He likes you anyway!" Ino yelled at her long time rival and best friend.

"No way! Sasuke-kun is so much better than Naruto!"

Said blonde felt a stab at his heart. Not wanting to hear how much better Sakura liked Sasuke, he went and asked Shino to be his partner. Everyone stopped at the unexpected reaction from Naruto. They had all grown use to him yelling out in indignation about how much better he was than the brooding Uchiha. This was the last thing they expected out of him. Shino nodded at Naruto's request and they went to get their assignment from Inoichi. Shikamaru smirked and signaled Choji to follow their lead. It was about time the blonde stopped putting on his idiot act for them. Sasuke found himself with the unfortunate luck of being stuck with Ino and Sakura since there was an uneven number of people. Sasuke cursed himself mentally. He should have asked someone while he had a chance.

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Jio yawned as he walked through the gates with his team. Hana and Koyuki and finally forgiven him after much groveling on his part and one last beat down courtesy of Hana. Although she was much less severe than the last time she had randomly attacked. He decided to come clean with them and told them the reason why he had to leave unexpectedly. To say they were shocked was an understatement, but once the shock had worn off, they were sworn to secrecy. After all, he only needed the people he trusted to know he was housing a demon.

"Geez, these non stop missions are starting to get ridiculous." Koyuki commented.

"I have to agree with you there." Hana said. "but there's nothing we can really do. I hear the missions will be backed up for almost three month. It's gonna be like this for awhile."

"At least they're giving us the day off today before we get sent on some other mission." Jio said trying to make their situation seem better.

"That's true. It'll be nice to see my brother and mother for longer than a few minutes. That is assuming they're not out doing missions too." Hana added.

"I guess we're all starting to feel the stress." Koyuki sighed.

Jio agreed with Koyuki. The stress was getting to all of them. The recovery process was going to be a long one but they needed to do their parts to get the village back to normal. Once the rebuilding was done, the ninjas that were helping with the clean up could help with the back log of missions. They made their way to the Hokage Tower to report their mission. As they walked through the entrance, they noticed a delegation from Sand leaving the tower.

From what Jio had heard from Jiraiya, there had been an investigation by the Sand shinobi and they found the remains of their Hokage. The medics determined he had been dead long before the Chunin exams began. Both the Leaf and Sand concluded that Orochimaru was responsible for everything that had happened. Not long after their findings, Suna declared a complete surrender to Konoha. Their surrender was accepted and certain things were still being hashed out. Jio wasn't quite sure what else they were negotiating but Jiraiya hadn't heard of what those things were yet. He was sure he'd hear about it sooner or later.

Jio's team reported in with the council members in charge of the missions and were sent on their way to await another mission. Jio happily went home only to find no one was there. He looked around the house until he found two notes. Naruto was doing a mission in the market district while Jiraiya was off doing 'research'.

_'Great. Guess that means another Icha Icha book is in the works.'_

_**'That means another editing job. You must be so excited.'**_

_'Are you implying something?'_

_**'Just pointing out the fact there's nothing wrong with liking your Sensei's books.'**_

Jio groaned and tried to block out Houkou's teasing. Since when did he turn into a pervert? Deciding that staying at home with nothing to do was less than exciting, he left to take a look at the villages progress. He'd been gone for a few days and had yet to see what had been rebuilt. Taking to the rooftops, Jio got a good look at what was rebuilt and what still needed work. The residential district was in a lot better shape than the last time he had looked. There was still a few more repairs it could use but for the most part, it was liveable. As his eyes continued to scan the village, he was more than pleased to see the village was looking more and more like it's old self. He continued to hop along the roofs towards the market district when he suddenly felt like someone was watching him. Jio came to a sudden stop to take another look at his surroundings.

_'You feel it too right Houkou? I'm not just going crazy am I?'_

_**'No I felt someone too.'**_

Jio sniffed the air to try locate his pursuer.

_'Nothing. Whoever it is, they're down wind of me.'_

Frowning, Jio decided to take to the streets. Perhaps if he could lead his pursuer to into a crowd, they'd let their guard down. He really hated walking down the crowded streets of Konoha since regardless of what he had done during the invasion, the villagers still looked at him with cold or hateful glares. He jumped down into an alley and quickly made a clone before disappearing into the shadows. He watched from the shadowed rooftops as his clone navigated the crowd. Finally he spotted someone out of place. He was surprised as to who was following him around.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jiraiya was in the Hokage building in one of the meeting rooms. He was quickly losing his patience with the council members.

"We have a two things to tell you. You'll probably understand why." Homura started.

"So you say. Even though your faces don't say it, I take it talks with the sand is going well?"

"That is one of the things we need to talk about but there is something more pressing." Homura answered. "Right now, the power of Konoha is declining and the people are becoming fearful. Because of this, our top priority is to make preparations for upcoming crisis."

"We need a strong leader to guide us." Koharu continued. "Right now, there is some sort of trouble coming this way. It is not only Orochimaru. As of right now a Godaime is needed."

The Toad Sannin knew where this was going. He was flattered to some extent but he was just not the type.

"Jiraiya, we decided for it to be you." Koharu finished.

"No thanks." Jiraiya said without missing a beat. "I'm just not the type."

"This is the decision that was made." Koharu attempted to persuade. "If you are not the type then tell us who is."

"That person is Tsunade."

Koharu frowned. "Even is she is qualified we do not know of her whereabouts."

"I'm going to look for her and bring her back. That shouldn't be a problem right?"

Koharu and Homura glanced at each other skeptically, however, if anyone could find Tsunade it was the Toad Sannin.

"Very well." Homura said. "However you will need to bring several ANBU with you on the search party"

Jiraiya shook his head. "That's a bit excessive isn't it? I'm not going to run away if that's what your worried about. However, I would like to bring two shinobi of my choosing."

"As you wish." Koharu answered, "We do have one more issue regarding your pupil..."

Jiraiya couldn't keep his jaw from dropping at the news he received.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto grinned happily at the progress he and Shino had made. Thanks to some careful planning on their part, they were done with their assigned cleaning way ahead of schedule. Nothing like Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to speed up the process. The blonde was also happy that he made a new friend in Shino. It had been a battle to get the bug user to say more than a sentence but Naruto was never one to give up. He finally got Shino to tell him a little bit more about himself, like that his favorite foods were winter melon and wild grass salad. Naruto was glad he was able to get something out of the bug user and didn't torment him too much further with questions. He was caught off guard later when Shino questioned him about his brother. The blonde was more than happy to talk about his reunited family. He even invited him to the next cloud watching session they were going to have with Shikamaru. The genin finally took a lunch break and caught up with each other.

It felt like a life time since they were all able to sit down and laugh. Before long, Naruto found himself the center of everyone's attention. It was true that he was never bothered by any sort of attention given to him but he had never expected to be bombarded with so many questions.

"Seriously Naruto, what's up with you? Your like almost a completely different person." Ino asked what everyone wanted to know.

The blonde sighed. "I'm not that different."

"Yeah right." Kiba said, "I heard about what you did during the invasion. Out of all of us, you're the last person I thought would kill anyone."

Naruto felt the mood turn serious. He really thought no one would bring up his actions during the invasion. The fact that he had actually taken any lives didn't really sink in until after the Third's funeral. He was grateful that Jio and Jiraiya had been around to help him deal with the guilt he felt. It was true that they had been at war at the time, but that didn't mean he felt like those people's life meant any less.

"I think you guys are over reacting." Naruto said trying to play off the question. Now was not the time to be talking about such things. They should be enjoying each others company instead.

"Dobe." Sasuke finally spoke. "Your lying. What changed?"

Sasuke was tired of Naruto's act. He noticed changes in the blonde just as everyone else had. At first no one could tell because he was still being his loud and obnoxious self. Then after the Third's funeral, Sasuke picked up on changes in the blonde. His style of clothing was the most noticeable. Naruto stopped wearing his ridiculous orange outfits. It was an improvement in Sasuke's opinion, but the changes in his personality were the most surprising. He was no longer as loud or smiling as often. At first he attributed it to the death of the Third but when Naruto failed to return to his normal self, Sasuke started to notice other things. The blonde was seen with Shikamaru more often and since when did he like playing Go or Shougi?

"Your not the same dobe." Sasuke concluded.

Naruto smiled slightly at them. "Your right. I'm not. Thanks to my brother and Ero-senin I finally decided to change."

Sasuke continued to stare at him without saying a word. He hadn't been satisfied with that simple answer. Naruto sighed once more.

"I got tired of acting like an idiot and yes I was acting. I'm not as dumb as you guys think I am."

"But why act like an idiot? That's just stupid." Sakura said. She was quickly losing her temper with her teammate. "What good did that do you?"

Naruto lost his smile. They all noticed this. "You wouldn't understand."

Shikamaru could tell that this conversation was going into delicate territory. He had tried asking Naruto a similar question but with much more tact than Sakura had.

"Come on guys. It's not like he's changing for the worse. If he doesn't want to talk about it don't push him. It's not like we don't have things we would prefer not to talk about."

Naruto was extremely grateful for Shikamaru's interference.

"Fine." Sasuke conceded. "But I want to know, is it true that the Toad Sannin is training you?"

Naruto nodded happily at that. Ever since he began training with his brother and Jiraiya, he felt like he had made great strides to becoming the next Hokage. Sasuke on the other hand scowled. Why? Why was Naruto getting all this special training all of a sudden? Sasuke needed the training more than the village dobe. How was he suppose to avenge his families death with the little progress he was making? Sasuke clenched his fists in frustration. Naruto noticed Sasuke's change in attitude.

"Yeah. Ero-sennin and my brother are training me. That's only natural. They're my family and they want me to be a better shinobi. Nothing wrong with that."

Sasuke wanted to say something. He really did. What did the dobe know? However, he was interrupted

by a new comer.

"Hinata-sama." Neji nodded towards his cousin.

"N-N-Neji-niisan. W-w-what are you doing h-here?" Hinata was very grateful that she was able to re-connect with her cousin. Ever since the exams, he'd been doing everything in his power to make things right with Hanabi and herself.

"Have you seen Hanabi come this way at all?"

"N-n-no, I h-haven't"

"Did something happen?" Naruto asked with some concern.

Neji nodded. "It seems Hanabi-sama has disappeared from the Hyuga compound. She has not been located so far."

"Do you think she was kidnapped?" Shikamaru asked. He knew full well that kidnapping attempts were not unusual towards the Hyuga. Their eyes were of much value not only to their village, but to others as well.

"We do not know. We are trying to investigate but we're low on man power with everyone attending to village matters."

"We can help look for her." Naruto suggested. "We finished our mission ahead of schedule anyway. What do you say guys?"

"Yeah lets do it! Akamaru can track her. We'll find her in no time." Kiba added.

"T-T-Thank you." Hinata said while poking her index fingers together. It was a nervous habit of her's.

Naruto smiled at her. "What are friends for?"

Hinata's face immediately turned as red as a tomato before she felt the world go dark around her. Everyone stared in shock at what happened. Neji quickly ran to Hinata's side.

"Did she...faint?" Ino asked the group.

"It would seem that was the case." Neji said with a sigh. His cousin really did have the biggest crush on Naruto.

Kiba couldn't hold in his laughter any longer and fell to the ground.

"Hahaha! I can't believe she fainted just from a smile from Naruto! Naruto of all people!"

It wasn't long before everyone else joined in the laughter with the exception of Sasuke, Shino, Neji and of course Naruto. Neji was too busy glaring daggers at Naruto while Sasuke and Shino merely smirked at the turn of events.

"Haha, very funny everyone." Naruto said with a blush on his cheeks. Was it so hard to believe that a girl found his smile so charming?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hanabi Hyuga. The very name demanded respect. Hanabi could have almost anything she wanted even the title of family heir if she so wished. Ever since she could remember, she was told she was better than her sister and she had proven this on multiple occasions. Since she was the best and potential clan heir, it was only natural that she seek out someone who would be able to compliment her. In other words, she needed a strong husband. It was true that she was only 8 years old and would be considered too young to be thinking of such things. However, Hanabi was not one to dwell on what she deemed to be trivial matters. Why wait? She had found the perfect husband after all. She hadn't expected to find someone so soon but there he was. He came out of no where during the invasion. In fact, that was the first time she had ever laid eyes on him. That day, her eye caught something red fluttering in the wind. Upon looking closer, she saw a boy with black and white hair, summoning not one, but several wolf's at the same time! She had been very impressed. Then she heard further stories of how he helped defeat a powerful Sand shinobi and she knew he was the one. She was confident she could make him her's. So why was she following him around like her sister stalked her blonde crush?

Before she could ponder how much alike she was to her sister, she was startled to find she had lost sight of the boy she had been trailing. After he had jumped from the roof, Hanabi was able to keep track of him even with the crowded street. It actually made things easier since she was able to hide within the crowd. She cursed her luck. How had she lost him?

"So mind telling me why your trailing me?"

Had Hanabi had been a normal little girl alone in a busy street, she would have jumped at the voice that spoke. Luckily for her, Hanabi was not a normal little girl. She was a Hyuga which meant she was anything but startled.

"So you finally noticed I was trailing you. Took you long enough. Just what kind of shinobi are you?" Hanabi wanted to curse herself for sounding so rude, but she would not let this boy have her in a jumbled mess like her sister was around a certain blonde.

Jio merely raised an eyebrow at her response. It was definitely not what he was expecting. This girl couldn't be more than eight yet she carried herself like an adult.

_'Why do I always get the difficult ones?'_

"Uh huh. So are you gonna answer my question?"

"Are you going to answer mine?" she countered.

Jio had no idea what to say. He had no idea why this girl was being so...mean to him. He was pretty sure he'd never done anything to make her mad. In fact, this was his first time ever seeing her, but he'd play her little game.

"Fair enough I suppose. I happen to think I'm a fairly decent shinobi but I suppose that is only my personal opinion and you seem to think otherwise. My name is Uzumaki Jio, by the way. I don't believe I caught yours."

Hanabi was so far satisfied with how he was handling his conversation with her. He wasn't treating her like a child. That was good. She was slightly worried that he'd treat her like all the other dumb kids her age. Konohamaru was a good example of a child. Perhaps she wouldn't have a hard time getting him to take her seriously.

"I am Hyuga Hanabi." she noticed Jio's eyes widen slightly. "I see you recognize my name."

"Well, I do recognize your clan name but that's all I can say."

An awkward paused filled the air. Jio didn't know why but he felt like that wasn't the response she was looking for. He always seemed to give the wrong response to girls. Why was he cursed with such a horrid gift?

"So are you going to answer my question?" he said in an attempt to get rid of the awkwardness.

Hanabi hadn't been too pleased with how he knew nothing about her however, she decided to let it slide for now. She had found out everything she could about this boy and knew he hadn't lived in the village in a long time. Deciding that any more small talk was a waste of time, she went straight to the point.

"I was following you because I've picked you to be my husband. You should feel honored to marry into the Hyuga Clan."

Out of all the things she could have said to him, that was not one of them. He blinked once, then twice, in disbelief. Had he heard right?

"I was not making any mistake. I have picked you to be my husband." Hanabi repeated for good measure.

Jio tried his best to reason the current event that was taking place. How and why had this girl come to this conclusion? He'd never met her before!

"Listen, Hyuga-san..."

"Hanabi-chan." she cut him off.

"Huh?"

"You shall address me as Hanabi-chan from now on."

"Um, okay. Ha-Hanabi-chan." He felt like he shouldn't be calling her by anything other than Hyuga-sama. Hanabi however, had a very satisfied smile on her face. "Listen I can't marry you."

"If age is an issue don't worry so much about it. Once I turn 16 I will be of legal age or do you find it a problem having a young bride?"

_'I have a problem getting married period!'_

"Age isn't the issue here. I just can't marry you." he said.

"Unless you have a better reason then I suggest you get use to the idea."

_'Why do I attract bossy women?'_

_**'Your just lucky like that pup. This girl is pretty serious.'**_

_'I can already tell this is not going to be an enjoyable day.'_

As Jio attempted to wrack his brain with a better way to explain to this girl why he couldn't marry her, their attention was drawn from their conversation to small dog running towards them.

"Found her!" a loud boisterous voice called.

Before they knew it the rookie nine gathered around them. Jio thanked whatever god was out there for their interference.

"Hanabi-sama, where have you been? Everyone at the compound has been worried."

"I'm fine Neji-niisan."

While Neji and Hinata clamored around Hanabi, Naruto and Shikamaru walked over to Jio who seemed to be very confused.

"Jio your back!" Naruto exclaimed. He then looked between Jio and Hanabi "What were you doing with Hinata's sister?"

Jio was about to answer when Hanabi beat him to it.

"I was letting him know he will be marring me."

"WHAT!" the rookie nine exclaimed.

And just like that, Jio cursed the gods. They were of no help.

"I have no idea what's going on!" he exclaimed. He felt Neji glare daggers at him. "She was following me and when I caught her in the act she turns around and tells me this. I've never even met her before!"

"Jio-san, you always seem to be getting into trouble with girls." Sakura commented.

Jio sighed. How right she was. It wasn't his fault things like this happened to him.

"H-H-Hanabi!" Hinata exclaimed. "Y-Y-You shouldn't j-joke like that!"

"Who said I was joking?" Hanabi answered.

"That's even worse." Neji added. "You cannot marry him. The age difference is too great..."

"But he said age wasn't an issue." Hanabi added innocently, but mentally she knew exactly what she was doing. Jio couldn't believe what this girl was doing. He stole a glance at Neji who was ready to tear through the older Uzumaki.

"That's not what I mean! Neji-san please calm down!"

"How dare you, what kind of sicko are you? Even if you are Naruto's brother, I will kill you!"

Naruto quickly jumped to his brother's defense. "Neji please calm down. I know my brother. He wouldn't do something like that. He was probably trying to turn down your cousin without hurting her feelings. Its just a crush on her part. Things like this happen. It'll go away."

Hanabi shoved her way over to Naruto and glared at him.

"Its not just some dumb crush. Your brother will marry me and he will be thrilled when the time comes." she glared at Jio for good measure before turning her back to them.

Ino and Sakura couldn't help but giggle at Jio's predicament. They thought it was adorable that Hinata's sister had a crush. It was ironic that both the sisters had a crush on an Uzumaki. Jio ran a hand through his hair and sighed. This was his first time dealing with a girl having a crush on him, especially one so young. Neji looked from Hanabi to Jio. Now that he had calmed don, it was obvious to him that Hanabi was the only one interested in the other party. He turned to Jio.

"I apologize for overreacting."

"It's alright. I understand you want to protect your cousin." Jio looked at Hanabi. "Listen, Hanabi-chan, I lied when I said age isn't an issue because it is. I'm 14 and your..."

"Eight." Hanabi supplied with no emotion.

Jio flinched slightly from the coldness of her response. "Right, eight. That's a six year difference. You may think I'm the one, but your still young. Your perfect guy is probably still out there."

Hanabi glared daggers at him. Jio never knew a kid that young could be that menacing. She said nothing else to him as she took off towards the Hyuga compound. Hinata and Neji sprinted after her. The rest of the rookie nine minus Shikamaru and Naruto went their separate ways after that.

"So," Jio began. "How has your day been?"

Naruto chuckled. "It got a lot more interesting that's for sure."

"Your going to tell Sensei about this aren't you?"

"How can I not?"

Shikamaru chuckled. "You Uzumaki's are nothing but trouble."

Naruto and Jio could only smirk at his statement. It was hard to argue that fact after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Marriage?" Jiraiya exclaimed to Koharu and Homura. "This has got to be some kind of joke."

"We would not joke about something so serious. There hasn't been an arranged marriage between 2 villages for many years, however, both sides agree that something more must be done in order to repair the treaty Suna broke. It was they who suggested the marriage."

Jiraiya composed himself. "When will they be sending their kunoichi for the marriage?"

"We have yet to set an official date." Homura answered.

"Then wait until I bring back Tsunade to set anything. I will tell the kid myself."

"Very well. We leave the rest to you."

Koharu and Homura left Jiraiya alone with his thoughts. Jiraiya sighed. This was an unexpected turn. It wasn't everyday that a marriage between two villages happened. Especially a marriage where so much was at stake. He was fairly sure Jio was going to freak out.

AN: And that concludes the chapter. I have a feeling I wrote everyone out of character. Arg, I was trying my hardest not to. Seems like I need to go back and re-read the manga since I wrote this chapter outta memory. Well review and what not.


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